Annette Bright signs off on a 43-year career

Annette Bright set her sights on working at the University of Lethbridge before she’d even finished high school. Born and raised in Emerson, Manitoba, she and her sister would travel to Picture Butte, where their older sister lived, to babysit their nephews during the summers. She told her younger sister she wanted a job at the University because it looked like a cool place to work. 

“When I graduated high school, I packed up my car and drove to Picture Butte on the July long weekend,” she says. “There were maybe 10 job openings on campus, and I applied for the ones that I had skill sets for. I got a couple of interviews and Rosemary Howard hired me to work in the photocopying office. And that was 43 years ago.” 

Bright decided to retire to spend more time with her husband and two daughters. In the days ahead, the Brights are looking forward to camping more often using their 20-foot trailer and in winter, Annette will have more time to sew, crochet, knit, quilt and embroider. 

While July 31 is her last official day of work, she cleaned out her office weeks ago. Now it’s a lunch room and chatting in this new space, Bright does some mental archaeology. The lunch room that was her office used to be part of the Food Court and before that, it was a parking lot with nearby access to the worm, the above-ground tunnel that provided a little shelter from the elements on the long walk down the hill to University Hall. 

Annette first began her career at ULethbridge in the Library, then located in the B-section of UHall. From the photocopying office, she moved to the serials section and worked there until an opening for the Textbook Buyer with the Bookstore came up in 1989. She served in that capacity until 2001. When the bookstore manager at the time left the position for medical reasons, Jim Booth, Executive Director of Ancillary Services, suggested Annette apply for the job. She hesitated because she already had a small daughter, Michelle, and wanted to have another child soon. Nonetheless, Booth encouraged her to apply. She followed through and secured the position. 

Growing the family and the Bookstore 

The Bookstore was located in D-section of University Hall at the time but plans to build the Students’ Union Building were afoot. The north end of the SU Building on Floor 0 was reserved for the warehouse and Bookstore. Textbooks in print form were an integral part of the university experience and space was needed to store and display them. The Bookstore Shipping/Receiving was located at the back of the store, making it very easy to restock shelves. The Bookstore also had a corner space on the second floor of the SU Building, part of its current location and known as the spirit store, for logoed items and a kiosk on Level 6 of UHall for incidentals like pens, pencils and notebooks. 

“Jim mentored me for a good year, doing budgets and business plans,” Bright says. “And I learned a lot and then I said, ‘By the way Jim, I’m expecting.’” 

At that time, a new system was being installed at the Bookstore and Annette took part in the training and got everything ready. They turned on the system and she went into labour the next day. Annette and her husband Mike, whom Annette met at ULethbridge when he was a student, added Emily to their family. Both daughters are part of the ULethbridge family — Michelle completed a BSc/BEd in 2021 and Emily is on track to graduate with the same degree in December. 

The Bookstore’s role broadens 

As the University grew, so did Bookstore operations. They handled regalia for convocation, adding new regalia as master’s and PhD programs grew. Technological advances over the years meant that many textbooks became available on CDs or could be rented. Coupled with budget reductions, the Bookstore no longer needed such a large space. The operation then moved into its current space in the SU Building. 

The Bookstore plays a central role at the University. Faculty members order the books and materials for their courses, from 700-page introductory biology textbooks to clay and stretcher bars for Fine Arts students. The Bookstore also hosts in-house author events and participates in community events like Word on the Street, Pride in the Park and the annual Christmas Tree Festival sponsored by the Chinook Regional Hospital Foundation. A highlight for Annette and the Bookstore staff came in 2021 when they received the annual Volunteer Award. They were recognized for student engagement and being an inspirational leader for several important societal and community campaigns like the Christmas Tree Festival.

“One of our most memorable events on campus is convocation,” says Annette. “It is so wonderful following our students on their journey and celebrating their accomplishments! We meet them at Ahead of the Herd, walk with them through NSO and hopefully get an opportunity to make a special connection through their time with us.” 

Annette and the staff have seen many changes and always try to bring an element of fun to their work. What helps is having some control over the merchandise and where it goes. Buyers, sometimes in consultation with Bookstore student staff members, choose the merchandise knowing they need to appeal to a broad range of customers. 

Moving to a digital environment 

“When I started at the University, it took like 10 years to introduce used books and then it literally took a semester to be full-blown digital,” she says. “You had better be ready with your software and hardware and understanding your key stakeholders on campus. Our number one service is to our students — that’s why we’re all here. They need stress relievers; they need opportunities to be social.” 

The move to a digital environment was already afoot but the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the process. Since the Bookstore already had things in place, catching up to full digital operations didn’t take much time. 

More than a place to buy course materials, the Bookstore is part of the University community. Bookstore staff host game nights with the Geek Club, participate in scavenger hunts during Fresh Fest, attend Pronghorns games, sell Pronghorns gear, and collect funds for the Student Food Bank. 

“We’re still one of the few universities to offer student charge accounts where students can charge their course materials to their account on the Bridge,” she says. “I think that really helps students who are waiting for their scholarships to come through or the ones who are waiting for their last pay cheque from their summer job. They’ve got tuition and first and last month’s rent to pay when they’re starting school. We were finding that the course materials were the last things they were buying, which would put them behind in their studies and create stress.” 

What’s ahead? 

The Bookstore will continue to be more innovative in the years ahead with new systems and software and an emphasis on community building. Kari Tanaka has become the Bookstore Operations Manager and she, along with six other staff members, will steer the Bookstore in the years to come. 

“I think our team is the best and they can work with many ideas and collaborate to make things happen,” she says. “As our institution changes, our students change, our faculty change, how they teach changes and if one of their core support systems isn’t looking at ways to change with them, then why are we here?” 

That means continuing involvement with events like Word on the Street, Pride in the Park, book talks to elementary and high schools and having open nights for literary teachers (as part of the Alberta Teachers Association’s English Language Arts Council) for book talks and how they relate to the curriculum. The Bookstore also has key personnel that work with The Teaching Centre and Moodle to be effective in distributing resources students need.