About Bookstores

In October, when Clark Kepler reopened Kepler's Books and Magazines after financial problems almost forced its permanent closure last August, he did so with help from members of the Silicon Valley community, including financiers, technology and Internet magnates, elected representatives, business leaders, and many hundreds of loyal customers.

R.J. Julia at Elm Street Books to Close

Island Books, Judy Crosby's 13-year-old bookstore, is located in Middletown, on Aquidneck Island, one of the earliest colonial settlement sites in Rhode Island. Until 1731, Middletown was a part of neighboring Newport, the seaside town long famous as a vacation spot for the extraordinarily wealthy.

In March 2001, when the owners of Maryland's Bibelot Books and Music declared bankruptcy and abruptly closed their four stores, the fate of many of the bookselling staff largely went unnoticed. However, for several of the "Bibelot survivors," as one former staff member dubbed herself and her former co-workers, their love of bookselling remained strong.

Already named one of the 25 best small towns in America, Jasper, Indiana, can now boast its own independent bookstore. Words of Wisdom, a general bookstore, owned by Michelle O'Connor, opened on November 11, 2005.

As far back as O'Connor can remember, there hasn't been a bookstore in the southern Indiana town of 12,000. The local Wal-Mart sells books, but the nearest bookstore is an hour's drive away.

Three well-known independent bookstores recently made the news: two with the announcement of a change in ownership and one with a relocation.

Retailing, specifically bookselling, is honorable and difficult work. Some might say it is not, however, on a par with saving lives or curing cancer. That's what makes Kathleen Jewell, owner of Wilmington, North Carolina's new store, Pomegranate Books such an intriguing addition to the bookselling community. She has a foot in both worlds.

For the last few weeks, the rumor had been circulating among concerned Corte Madera residents and even in local media: Barnes & Noble was planning to move from its present location in nearby Greenbrae, California, to a much larger and more convenient space very close to the independent Book Passage Corte Madera. The rumor even spurred a number of concerned citizens to launch a grassroots movement to protest the potential move in support of their local bookstore.

If new bookseller Karen Emmerling could go back in time and listen to three words of advice before launching her general bookstore, Beach Books, in the small coastal town of Seaside, Oregon, she would want someone to tell her, "Do more research." After being open for two months, she confessed, "There's an awful lot more to think about than I probably considered, not having had a background in retail or books." But despite the warp-speed learning process, "everything has really fallen into place," she said.

Cornerstone Books, a 3,000-square-foot bookstore/cafe in historic Salem, Massachusetts, celebrated its grand opening Wednesday with a visit from the town's mayor to cut the ribbon, an evening of live entertainment from the Squatcho Bondo Band of Gloucester, and food and drink for all.

The store, owned by Gilbert Pili, managed by his brother Erik, with old friend Dan Johnson doing the buying, has long been a gleam in Pili's eye. But for many months, Cornerstone's opening was bedeviled by impediments of all sorts.

This past December provided two independent booksellers with a holiday bonus: Internet Retailer named Portland, Oregon's Powell's Books among the 50 best retailers online, and Forbes.com named Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as the Top Bookshop in its list of the "World's Top Shops 2005."

Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, Massachusetts

When it comes to advocating change in local politics, it's good to have persistence and patience. Fortunately for the residents of Nantucket, Massachusetts, who want the town to retain its historic charm, bookseller Wendy Hudson possesses both.

As part of a strong movement to revitalize downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, an independent bookstore and cafe opened on December 10 in the former Steketee's department store. River Bank Books & Music, owned by Debra Lambers of the Book Nook & Java Shop in Montague, Michigan, occupies about 10,000 of the 100,000 square feet of space in the eight-story landmark building, completed in 1917.

Holiday sales this season were up compared to the previous year according to most of the independent booksellers who recently spoke to Bookselling This Week. While a few reported that sales were sluggish or flat in comparison to holiday sales in 2004, most saw moderate to significant increases. In addition, many booksellers noted that Book Sense gift card sales were up.