I think the managers name was Seth. He apparently made false accusations against me. Had the police harass me. Then had me barred for no reason at all. I was studying for the MCAT, lawfully using their books b/c I'm broke. Horrible experience.

This is a bookstore that really encourages people to read and learn. The interior is gorgeous and spacious. The Coop has books at any price range, and does great specials as well. I pretty much always walk out with at least something every time I walk in here.

Horrible experience with Seth. He needs to be fired. He's no good.

The Harvard Coop is the largest bookstore in Harvard Square, and sells textbooks for Harvard courses (in its annex). The ground floor display area has current bestsellers in a variety of areas as well as a display of books written by Harvard faculty, or about Harvard. Its sheer size means that you have a pretty good chance of finding a book you're looking for in a wide variety of topics. For Harvard and MIT students, alums, and faculty, it also offers a year-end rebate on your purchases. There is a cafe next to the large selection of magazines, which you can browse at will. Why, then, do I prefer spending my time and money at Harvard Bookstore (HBS), down the street, and unaffiliated with Harvard? The simple answer is *curation*. At HBS, the selection of books seems much more intelligent and specific to the university community. They know what is a classic and what is a recent, interesting book. At the Coop, on the other hand, you get the sense (confirmed by talking to the staff) that they just get boxes of stuff from B&N central purchasing, apparently chosen based on national sales figures or maybe just what the publisher is trying to sell. Granted, in some areas (especially practical areas like software and travel), this means that you'll want to shop there rather than HBS, but for most topics, you'll find a much more thoughtful selection at HBS. Then of course there are more specialized bookstores like Schoenhof's (language learning and foreign books), the Million Year Picnic (comic books), Grolier (poetry). PS I am not affiliated with either HBS or the Coop in any way other than as a long-time customer of both.

the harvard coop is a bookstore and harvard paraphenalia store owned by barnes and noble college corporation. it sells anything harvard you could possibly imagine. Also its a bookstore, but it stinks all the time because the homeless people are constantly washing their clothes in the bathroom.