Kramer Books

After Politics and Prose, the most well known indie bookstore in DC is definitely Karmer Books. Located in DuPont Circle, the shop is known equally for its book selection and its famous Afterwords Cafe. I had some time to kill this weekend and decided to pay a visit to Kramer Books to see how they're doing. Before stopping in, I checked out their website to see how they're using the internet and social media to connect with their patrons.

The bookstore is not very large, and always busy. I snapped picture, which you can see to the right. They have a great selection and ambiance.

The website is pretty rudimentary. The staff does a good job, however, of keeping the store's social media websites updated. They have a Facebook page, and a Twitter which is actually for their successful cafe. It seems much of Kramer's revenue comes from the business they generate through their cafe. They frequently update menu items and feature live music weekly. Thus, Kramer's provides me with my first example of a bookstore whose business model is mostly dependent on their cafe/restaurant.

Scanners Pop-Up Bookstore

Well, I'm back from my far too brief, but absolutely wonderful trip to the San Francisco Bay Area. I had the opportunity to visit two indie bookstores. I was especially excited to visit Scanners, a pop-up used bookstore currently occupying the Mina Dresden Gallery in the Mission district. With the help of a willing accomplice, I was able to get a few pictures both in and outside the shop/gallery.

Scanners is temporarily inhabiting this space, existing as both a bookstore and an art exhibit. Books were creatively arranged on walls and tables. Many of the books available were about art, architecture, film, and counterculture. There were a number of visitors moving in and out of Scanners while we were there, and the proprietors were setting up for an event to be held later that evening.

In the case of Scanners, there's no real business model to evaluate. The store is about art and, in my own interpretation, the art of literature and books. The exhibit spoke to me because I believe many people, especially those in the publishing business, tend to think of books as a commodity or a product. There are very few people who really consider the art of the book these days-- the content, the design, etc. I also think with box stores like Barnes and Noble, people forget about the art involved in creating an aesthetically pleasing or interesting bookshop.

I had the opportunity to chat briefly with the proprietor, who is a bookseller by trade. He said the store will be open only until the end of October, and it will not be popping up anywhere else. Therefore, I encourage those of you in the area to stop by Scanners and appreciate the project, attend an event, and perhaps purchase yourself a book.

I also had a chance to stop by The Booksmith, a great indie store filled with chalked walls and staff recommendations. I picked up a copy of The Book Thief for my book club there. The woman behind the counter was very friendly, and in addition to a great book selection, they had some pretty funny little cards available for purchase. The owners have written a number of articles for The Huffington Post about, among other things, their experiences running an indie bookstore.

The Nonprofit Business Model

As I was reading a book of my choice for class (Chad Post's The Three Percent Problem), I came across an indie bookselling business model I have not yet explored: independent bookstores as nonprofits. In the face of numerous bookstore closures, some stores are declaring 501(c)(3) status. In this way, passionate booksellers can continue to share their love of books, but exist as a tax exempt organization. At the heart of successful nonprofit bookstores, is a solid, well articulated mission (i.e., not simply to "stay in business"). I did some browsing and came across several well established nonprofit book shops and have copied their "missions" below.

Woodland Pattern Book Center (pictured here in an image from Express Milwaukee) is one example of a wildly successful bookstore operating as nonprofit. The website declares their mission clearly and concisely:

Our goals are to promote a lifetime practice of reading and writing, to provide a forum and resource center for writers/artists in our region, and to increase and diversify the audience for contemporary literature through innovative approaches to multi-arts programming.

Locally (at least for me!), Books for America in DuPont Circle sells a fraction of the books it receives as donations as a fundraising mechanism. The organization describes their mission as follows:

We build and improve libraries in Washington, DC area schools, shelters, prisons and more; we support reading programs; and we provide children in the Nation's Capital with their first take-home books!

I plan to check out their shop and provide a review within the next several weeks.

Airport Bookstores: Buy it, Read it, Return it!

While the primary purpose of this blog is to chronicle the innovations and business model changes of independent bookstores as the publishing world moves into the digital age, occasionally other related issues come to my attention. As I've previously mentioned, I often travel for work. This leaves me plenty of time to wander around airports, buying ChexMix and checking out the bookstores.

Recently, thunderstorms forced me into a three hour layover in Charlotte, where I had the chance to check out the New York Times Bookstore. This store, like many other airport retailers, is owned and operated by The Paradies Shops. I went in to purchase Catching Fire and the woman behind the counter told me that once I finished reading, I could return the book to any airport bookstore run by The Paradies Shops and receive a 50% refund. She placed a bookmark in my purchase that declared "Buy it, Read it, Return it!"

Now I have no plans to return my purchase, but I would be interested to see how successful this program has been at generating revenue. I can see why this particular business model might be appealing for airport bookstores, or other bookshops in travels hubs.

As a side note, when I walked around the store, I didn't see any books marked as "used" being sold. I'm not certain what ultimately happens to the books that are returned. I assume those that are in good condition are simply placed back on the shelves with no indication that they have been previously purchased. As for the others, I can only speculate.