Friday: Indie Bookstores in the News

After an extended holiday hiatus, Empty Shelves has returned! And what better way than to kick off the new year than a round up of the subjectively important indie bookstore news of 2012?

First, several indie bookstores are packing up and moving out of their space. No, they didn't go bankrupt. Yes, they can still pay their rent. They're just switching locations. A Capella Books (fun website, by the way) in Atlanta will be moving by February 1st to a location that they

hope will experience more foot traffic. But for the popular Iowa City Defunct Books, the store owners are actually being kicked out by building owners who want to use the space for something different. This is really a shame considering the continued success of the store. In the article linked above, the owner says new locations are still being scouted.

40-year-old Bodhi Tree Bookstore (pictured left) in Los Angeles closed on the last day of 2011. Bodhi was a niche bookstore selling meditative, philosophy, and other types of zen books. The store will continue selling their inventory online, and hope to open up a new location eventually.

In happier news, St. Louis Today ran an article about the successful year experienced by local indie bookstores in the wake of Borders' closing. Booksellers there appear to be optimistic about the future of their stores and their community.

Friday: Indie Bookstores in the News

It's Friday folks! Per tradition, here is a roundup of the biggest indie bookstore related news from this week:

An ambitious bookseller has salvaged the remains of a Borders in San Francisco, creating his own store, ODE, in its place. The name is an economical re-purposing of the letters already plastered to the building. Read more in the New York Times.

In more San Francisco news, pop-up bookstores are apparently all the rage this month. The concept is much like that of pop-up restaurants; booksellers rent out a real, brick-and-mortar space for a month or so, then close up shop and move somewhere else. It's an interesting business model that I'll likely explore in a separate post.

The New York Times had an interesting profile on Sarah McNally, owner of McNally Jackson Books in New York. In the article, McNally talks about running her store, acquiring the only Espresso Book Machine in NYC, and, of course, her love a books.

The Espresso Book Machine

Death of Indie Bookstores?

Publishing news over the last several months has been filled with news stories about bookstores closing across the country. With the second largest commercial bookstore chain closing its doors for the last time in September, many people are growing concerned about the fate of brick-and-mortar booksellers. While I never enjoyed Borders stores myself, finding them poorly designed and too impersonal, I have watched with interest as other stores struggle to keep their doors open.

Last month, my Twitter feed exploded with stories about the imminent closing of St. Mark's Bookshop in NYC, a store that could no longer afford it's rising rent. On September 12th, the New Yorker ran an article titled Should we Fight to Save Indie Bookstores? For the first time, I began to feel truly concerned about the fate of bookstores across the country.

I grew up in a suburb of Seattle, which has for years been included in the list of the most well-read cities in the US. Many hours of my youth were spent browsing local bookstores, most notably the famed Elliott Bay Book Company, one of the largest and most successful independent bookstores in the country. As I grew older, I often found myself in the most convenient bookstores (typically the local Barnes and Noble) and I made little effort to seek out independent establishments. But I have always been drawn to them-- their

individuality, their homeyness, and the way they try to foster a supportive community of book lovers.

The book world is undeniably changing. Every week I hear more statistics about the transition to digital reading. This change, like most change for me, is both thrilling and a little scary. Independent bookstores will need to find ways to adapt to the new world of books if they hope to survive the decade.

Through this blog, I want to explore the ways independent bookstores are (or are not) adapting to the digital shift. I'm interested to see which stores will survive, what changes will be made to their business models, and how they will bridge the gap between digital books and the services they provide. Because I live in Washington, DC, many of the bookstores I will visit and follow are local. Still, as I have opportunities to see other shops, I will post about them and provide commentary on any major news items related to independent bookstores as they begin the transition.

The Elliott Bay Book Company (below), image from 5 Magazine