Customers seeking the music section at Mike's Movies & Music, 210 Calder Way, may be in for a surprise.

Mike Negra, president of the popular downtown rental and record chain, recently moved into the 226 E. College Ave. storefront that was vacated by Vibes Music in December.

"I've been doing Mike's Movies & Music for six years," Negra said. "I felt it was time for a change."

The new venture, known as Mike's Music, will become a full-fledged record store with a trained staff — something that could not be achieved with "the duel identities of being known as Movies & Music," Negra said.

Gaining the public's attention was the key component in Negra's move.

"We really wanted to get out of the alley and get some visibility," he said. "A lot of people don't even know where Calder Way is."

Besides offering the latest releases from a wide range of musical artists, Mike's Music will provide customers with a vast selection of used CDs.

"Our used CDs section is great and will be a major focus of our store," Negra said.

Final store decorations have yet to be complete, but several items are scattered around the store, including cardboard cutouts of Bob Dylan and Shakira and banners emblazoned with the likes of Lenny Kravitz and System of a Down.

"We're going to be getting more items such as band posters, patches and stickers as we settle in," Negra said. "What the customers want is our top priority."

The closing of various area record stores also inspired the move, Negra said.

"There's a whole lot less music stores these days," he said. "Getting music online certainly isn't helping."

Negra promises that Mike's Music will be different than the "big box record stores."

"Circuit City and Best Buy have come in recently, but they're not specifically record stores," he said. "We've got a huge commitment to jazz and blues, unlike those stores."

Negra also is eagerly awaiting Penn State students' return to their normal campus activities.

"They haven't been a major factor in sales so far, but that's only because they've (the students) been on break," Negra said.

John Winter (junior-mathematics), a former customer of Vibes, found the new establishment to be to his liking.

"It looks real nice," Winter said. "They've got more underground stuff, which I really like."

Jason Sebastian (junior-industrial engineering) went to Mike's Movies & Music and was shocked to hear news of the change.

"I usually went to Mike's Movies & Music for CDs because they had the best selection and prices, so this new store is great," he said.

Following the move, Mike's Movies & Music on Calder Way will focus primarily on movie sales and rentals.