Don't be fooled: The University of Chicago's lofty academic reputation completely bypasses the official campus bookstore. Happily, many students bypass this store as well. Downstairs is devoted to the standard Barnes & Noble Cafe (serving standard Starbucks coffee to weary U of C Hospital's employees), a rack of free newspapers, a pair of Cash Stations and a strange condensed version of the usual Barnes & Noble college bookstore. The majority of space is given over to academic titles and fewer to self-help books. The only sections of note (and simply because the Seminary Co-Op, two blocks away, doesn't carry them) are physical sciences and university authors. The fabled University of Chicago Press maintains somewhat of a special presence here.

Upstairs find a rather standard B&N newsstand: It's comprehensive, but quite uninterestingly so, with a few serious journals, almost all general-interest publications and a few foreign newspapers thrown in. You'll also find school supplies, overpriced University paraphenalia (keychains, mugs, shirts, golf balls) and a few usually empty rows of textbooks (mostly in the sciences and business; the rest of the University uses the Seminary) to round out the store. Once you tire of this convenience market, check your email (via Telnet or the Web) free at the two computers or buy some stamps at the post office next door.