The Rocket

Issue date: 11/30/07 Section: Focus

Media Credit: Submitted Photo Marshall Lieberman of Lieberman's Dynamic Bookstore, known as "the man in the van," buys books from students at universities all over Pennsylvania. [Click to enlarge]

It's that time of year again, when students no longer need their textbooks and are on the prowl to turn them in for some extra cash.

While typically students' only options would be to sell these books back to the SGA bookstore or through an online store like eBay or Amazon.com, another option has been added to the list of opportunities to rake in some extra cash.

In the past, students were able to visit this new buyer, often called "the man in the van," in his van outside of Luigi's Restaurant on Main Street in downtown Slippery Rock in order to sell their books at competitive prices.

However, now in its third semester in Slippery Rock, the van will be stationed in the parking lot beside Subway.

This van book-buying service is a part of a larger family-owned business called Lieberman's Dynamic Bookstore, which has two store locations: one at West Chester University in West Chester, Pa., and the other at the University of Delaware in Newark, Del.

Marshall Lieberman, the general manager of the family's bookstore at West Chester University, is also in charge of the vans that travel to different universities all over Pennsylvania during finals weeks in December and May.

"We started in Millersville and Scranton five or six years ago," Marshall Lieberman said. "From there, we started expanding further to other universities about two years ago."

Marshall Lieberman said that the family also used to have a store in Millersville, Pa., but Millersville University wouldn't give them the information about the professors and their required textbooks.

"We took it all the way to the (Pennsylvania) Supreme Court," Marshall Lieberman said.

The ruling came back that since Millersville never gave the family the information in the first place, they weren't required to start. Because of this, Lieberman's bookstore had to be closed at the Millersville location and vans went to Millersville University in future semesters.

Continued...

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