About us
Who we are
We're the UofG Bookshop (formerly John Smith & Son bookshop at the University of Glasgow). We're an independent bookshop in the heart of the city's West End, serving the local and academic community.
We're open to everyone - so you don't have to be affiliated with the University to shop with us! We sell a wide range of reference and fiction, poetry and drama, graphic novels, children's and YA literature, art and craft books, as well as gifts, games, puzzles, toys, and stationery.
Centuries of history
We've been selling books one way or another since 1751, when John Smith founded a bookseller's, publisher's and stationer's in Glasgow.
By 1913, the University of Glasgow had moved from its original home on the High Street in the city centre to new surroundings in the West End, and John Smith & Son opened a new shop close by "to supply the needs of the medical profession and of the students attending the University."
A hundred years later, we had a new home in the gleaming environs of the Fraser Building on Hillhead Street, opposite the University library and the Hunterian Art Gallery. We became the UofG Bookshop in 2025, when the University took over the ownership and running of the store.
From the flourishing of the Scottish Enlightenment to the digital age, we've sold educational books, entertaining books, enthralling books, and (sometimes) extremely obscure books, and we're here to continue that tradition into the future.
Our services
Looking for a particular book? We can order it for you. Collect in store, or order for home delivery. You can request a book online via our contact form, or come and have a chat with us in person.
Our shop on Hillhead Street also offers the following handy services:
- Passport and ID photo booth
- Photo printing and photo gift ordering
- Key cutting
- Coffee to go
We're also members of Bookshop.org and Libro.FM.
How to find us
We're located on the ground floor of the Fraser Building on Hillhead Street, opposite the University Library. There is an alternative entrance on the other side of the building which leads directly into the ground floor. This can be found on Southpark Avenue, opposite the Wellington Church.
Opening times
We're open from 9am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday (closed at weekends and on public and University holidays).
GU Heritage Retail Ltd
The UofG Bookshop, the University of Glasgow Gift Shop, and the Hunterian Art Gallery Shop, as well as various other aspects of University of Glasgow retail, are run by GU Heritage Retail Ltd (a subsidiary company of the the University). All of the profit generated by GUHRL is reinvested in the University.
GU Heritage Retail Limited is a company registered in Scotland under number SC207024 whose registered office is at the University of Glasgow G12 8QQ, with VAT Reg. No. 842921916.