The Book Exchange

The Book Exchange was founded years ago in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania by Alvin Headlee for the purpose of providing new and used textbooks to Waynesburg College students. Shortly after opening, Alvin decided to include souvenir items at the store to make The Book Exchange every local student's go-to for all of their education and merchandise needs. 1... 0 years after founding the company, Alvin accepted a position at the West Virginia Geological Survey and turned Book Exchange business operations over to his brothers, Harry and Ralph. Upon seeing the immense success of The Book Exchange in Waynesburg, Ralph decided to expand operations into Morgantown in 1934, opening a location in an old frame building at 148 Willey Street to service the students of West Virginia University. In the post-WWII era, as more and more students began enrolling in universities, The Book Exchange expanded rapidly, opening stores at the University of Maryland, The University of Pittsburgh and California University of Pennsylvania. The success of the Book Exchange lie in its ability to provide, quality, affordable products to the educational community, whether it be school supplies needed for class or apparel and gifts needed for on-campus activities and events. From the beginning The Book Exchange understood that the College or University a student attended was far more than just the opportunity to learn and grow into a career- it was also a way of life and embedded a strong sense of pride in the student and their families as they began the next stage of their lives. In 1976 Ralph Headlee decided to retire and sold the company-- locations were then split up among different buyers or closed. The Morgantown location was purchased by a local businessman, John Fleming, who made quick work of remodeling the store and moving the wholesale department to a new building. He then opened the Evansdale campus Book Exchange of West Virginia University and added the "Mountaineer Souvenir Center," which expanded upon the already extensive WVU merchandise ...Read More