Little Dickens and Givens Books Grows in Lynchburg, Virginia

At 27 years old and 16,000 square feet, Little Dickens and Givens Books is the oldest and largest independent bookstore in historic Lynchburg, Virginia. It was formerly two separate stores: Givens Books, founded and run by George Givens, and Little Dickens, a toy and teacher supply store owned by Danny Givens, George's son. The neighboring businesses merged in 1999, and construction was begun on the present store. At that time, George Givens, who died this past week, retired, and ownership of the combined store went to Danny Givens. Of George Givens' eight children, two work in the store and several others are in related fields.

New Book Section

Section for Teachers

Toy Section

Drowsy Poet Cafe

Under Danny Givens' stewardship, the store has become a destination, a place people come and return to "for the experience and its uniqueness." But Givens credits his late father's years of hard work for the success and longevity of the store. Givens told BTW, "He spent many years postponing gratification -- always putting money back into the business. That wasn't easy to do with eight children." He speaks proudly of his father, a history teacher for 20 years, as a man who "valued ideas, not things," as well as an accomplished author, who wrote The Hired Man's Christmas, published in 1998 by Scribner.

Danny Givens describes his early days in retailing as "just putting products out on the shelf." Now he sees the store as a giant canvas on which he can position elements for many different effects. For instance, the 48 oil paintings he commissioned to decorate the outside of the cash/wrap area create a striking surrounding for five cash registers. The gas fireplace and comfortable chairs keep the atmosphere homey and a 10-foot-high, 25-foot-long train provides a singular play environment and an ideal location for frequent story hours. Also in the children's area is a giant dollhouse, and hanging from the 17-foot ceiling are a retro rocket ship, a giant green velociraptor, a mammoth crystal chandelier, and a floating angel. Over 1,000 feet of track lighting make the original art and displays highly visible. For those who like the dark, the 'glow room' is decorated with glow-in-the-dark paint and glow toys, also for sale. The Drowsy Poet Cafe, subcontracted to a food provider, is large enough to offer well-lighted space for reading and more subdued seating in the back. One Friday a month, the café is the venue for music events, which attract over 100 people.

All of Givens' design decisions were motivated by his desire to make the store customer-friendly and entertaining. "When we were building the new structure," he told BTW, "we were dealing with a 16,000 square-foot prefab metal building. I wanted to avoid a Wal-Mart appearance and divide the store up -- give it nooks and crannies. I know that a lot of my customers are shopping on the Internet and at discount stores. If we want to keep our retail locations growing, we're going to have to give our shoppers an experience worth coming for."

"We have a solid, loyal clientele," continued Givens, "who see the value in supporting a family-owned business. We are very much a part of this community." Givens Books is large enough to host school book sales on site, and many schools take advantage of the program. The store also facilitates a three percent donation to the customers' choice of school. Community and business groups can make use of free space for meetings, and birthday parties can be held at the store.

Givens noted that sales are divided evenly among the toys, education supplies, and books, but dynamic bookselling is by no means an afterthought. Givens Books is the first stop of the day on the UPS route, delivering the hundreds of special book orders placed each day. These are usually fulfilled in a day, with no shipping charges. Used books have become an area of increasing growth and Givens' sister, Ginny Givens, handles the large department. Sarah Givens, another sister, is the new books buyer.

In the large entry vestibule, ample space is allocated to suggested reading for customers -- Book Sense lists are prominently displayed, as is a feature called "What Lynchburg Really Reads." Digital photos of customers reading their favorite books are posted with their names and information about the books. "This reinforces the idea that we are a hometown community bookstore," said Givens. --Nomi Schwartz