About Bookstores

On Tuesday, September 6, less than a week after Kepler's Bookstore abruptly shut its doors and owner Clark Kepler told his employees the store was out of business, some 450 people rallied together in downtown Menlo Park in the hopes of saving the 50-year-old institution.

Kepler told BTW via e-mail that he was surprised by the overwhelming support. "I felt a sense of wonderment. It was astonishing, encouraging, and humbling," he said.

Booksellers and others in the book industry have been passionate respondents to the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina. After first watching the loss of life and homes with horror, independent business owners have felt additional distress for those who face, at best, the daunting task of repairing damage done to their bookstores, or, at worst, the prospect of abandoning their ruined enterprises and, with it, their livelihoods.

Booksellers and others in the book industry have been passionate respondents to the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina. After first watching the loss of life and homes with horror, independent business owners have felt additional distress for those who face, at best, the daunting task of repairing damage done to their bookstores, or, at worst, the prospect of abandoning their ruined enterprises and, with it, their livelihoods.

A week after New Orleans' levees broke, unleashing devastation on the city, the full scope of Hurricane Katrina's damage has yet to be realized. With the major levee break repaired and the Army Corps of Engineers now pumping water out of the beleaguered city, anxious friends and relatives of those still missing brace for what will be found when the flood waters are gone. For most, the future is uncertain: They have lost their homes, their businesses, and, in the worst circumstances, loved ones.

As BTW went to press today, ABA learned that Michele Lewis of Afro-American Book Stop and Mary Price Dunbar of Beaucoup Books, both of New Orleans, were both safe and staying with family in Shreveport, Louisiana, and Nashville, Tennessee, respectively. Lewis reported losing her home and her stores to the ravages of Hurricane Katrina. In addition, former bookseller and ABA Board member Kevin McCaffrey was out of New Orleans when the storm struck and was safe.

On Wednesday morning at around 9:00 a.m., Kepler's bookstore suddenly shut its doors, bringing an abrupt end to what had been a Menlo Park, California, institution for over 50 years.

As the weakened Hurricane Katrina headed north from the battered Gulf Coast, dangerous floodwaters rose in New Orleans on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the historic city became the epicenter of what might be the largest natural disaster in the U.S. since the San Francisco earthquake in 1906.

It was a day of fear, drama, and concern as Hurricane Katrina, a raging Category 4 storm, reached land after gathering strength over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

By this afternoon, the storm had moved inland and weakened to a Category 2 storm, but, when it made landfall east of New Orleans at 6:10 a.m., it blew winds of 145 miles per hour with driving rain.

What is the secret to running several independent family businesses for 130 years? The Andersons of Naperville, Illinois, would be the ones to ask: The sixth generation of Andersons now runs the original family business, Oswald's Pharmacy, and three bookselling enterprises.

By Chuck Robinson, co-owner of Village Books in Bellingham, Washington

"If you build it they will come" is a great line from a great novel and movie. As a business marketing philosophy -- often adopted by booksellers -- it leaves a great deal to be desired. They will come when they are invited and invited and reminded and reminded. In other words, when marketing is used effectively.

In the sprawling city of Houston, Texas, Valerie Koehler has created a peaceful, small-town atmosphere at her nine-year-old store, Blue Willow Bookshop. In the 1,400-square-foot store, Koehler and a committed staff offer personal attention, in-store workshops for librarians, year-round activities for kids, and help for dozens of book clubs.

Opening the special candy bars, children and adults of all ages hold their breath. Only a select few will find a golden ticket entitling them to a complete tour of a local, independent chocolate factory. None are exactly sure what they will find there, if they do win.

Last week, Bookselling This Week noted the opening in July of three new independent bookstores -- The Spotty Dog Books & Ale in Hudson, New York; Bridge Street Bookshop in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania; and Read Between the Lynes in Woodstock, Illinois.

We're happy to report that our notice elicited a response from three more independent booksellers who opened their stores last month.