The Owl bookshop may not have the lowest prices around, but if students are short on pens or pencils, the Owl Bookshop works in a pinch.
The campus general store offers necessary supplies at reasonable prices, such as backpacks for $8.95, satchels for $22.25 and wheeled backpacks for as low as $36.25. The bookshop has a variety of backpack styles for any student or occasion.
The Owl Bookshop also sells basic classroom supplies. Some noteworthy examples include a pack of 10 Ticonderoga pencils at $3.99, a pack of 10 blue pens for $2.25 and $4.75 for a pack of four highlighters. Purchase a 2 inch binder for $4.25 and fill it with loose leaf, college ruled paper sold at $1.19.
Among erasers, protractors, compasses or rulers, the Bookshop also sells an assortment of basic necessities from makeup, lip balm, wigs and flat irons to toothbrushes, toothpaste and Listerine. The Owl Bookshop also carries tampons, condoms, or deodorant. Simple birthday cards are also sold there.
There are other locations close to Citrus College that offer similar supplies for less. Office Depot, located on 2620 E Workman Ave, West Covina, is having a sale till the beginning of September on all school items, including the items previously listed. Backpacks of similar quality and style at the Owl Bookshop sell for $17.92 to $22.92 at Office Depot. Instead of only 10 Ticonderoga pencils, you can purchase 12 for $1.49.
A pack of 300 three by five inch index cards are priced at $1.25, two inch binders as low as $7.99, and a 100 pack of Five Star college-ruled loose leaf paper at only $2.85 can all be found at the Office Depot.
However, while it is cheaper than the Owl Bookshop, it is approximately 5 miles from Citrus College. On top of this, Michael Bilbrey — the Bookstore Operations Coordinator — said,
“The funding that we get… first and foremost pays all the salaries of every student that we have working for us and every employee… That’s the largest chunk of where the money goes to.”
Bilbrey said that in a typical semester there are around 25 students who work at the Owl Bookshop, with as many as 55 students employed during peaks like the beginning of the Fall Semester.
Bilbrey also said “a percentage of it goes into ASCC’s budget… who then also fund various programs across the campus.” By purchasing from the Owl Bookshop, students are funding the college.
Originally published in print on Aug. 29.
