All You Need Is Local: Paperback Writer Launches Indie Alliance

Penny Latham of Paperback Writer, a bookstore in White Stone, Virginia, didn't have to be in the business long to figure out how important an independent business alliance is to local retailers and to the economic viability of a community. Latham, who also owns Penny Lane, an antiques store in White Stone, opened Paperback Writer in December 2005. Only five months later, she was formulating a plan for creating a regional independent business alliance in the Northern Neck region of Virginia, the Northern Neck Independent Business Alliance (NNIBA).

Latham credits the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance's "Bookseller Revival," held at Malaprop's Bookstore and Cafe in Asheville, North Carolina, in late April 2006, for inspiring her to form NNIBA. "There was a gal from the Raleigh Independent Business Alliance who came to speak at the Revival," she said, "and she talked about [the American Independent Business Alliance, AMIBA] and IBAs.... I thought it would be ideal for us."

However, rather than just create an IBA only for local retailers in White Stone (which is one hour from Richmond, Virginia, and about three hours from Washington, D.C.), Latham thought it would be more effective to launch a regional alliance for Virginia's "Northern Neck" area, which is comprised of Essex, Northumberland, Lancaster, and Middlesex counties.

At present, there are no chain bookstores in the White Stone area, Latham said, though she noted that some residents in nearby Kilmarnock made news by opposing a proposed Wal-Mart. "But somehow Wal-Mart ... bought some land," she said, though the mega retailer has yet to break ground. "It's probably too late [to stop Wal-Mart], but I thought we can start this to keep it under control."

Latham stressed that NNIBA is in its very beginning stages. She began by promoting the idea for an alliance to businesses in the White Stone area (White Stone, Irvington, Lively, and Kilmarnock), and it now has six members who also serve on the Board. Latham's hope is to grow the board to about 12 members and then start seeking a wider business membership throughout the Northern Neck region. "I'm going through the process of educating businesses," she said. She has plans to create a website soon.

Latham also used her own funds to join AMIBA. "I did a study and felt that AMIBA ... suited our needs," she said. "AMIBA is well organized and helpful." Referring to the American Booksellers Association's programming on Local First initiatives and information on its trade website, BookWeb.org, Latham added," And so is ABA."

To first drum up interest in NIBA, Latham scheduled a June meeting for "anyone who was interested in the idea -- I advertised it at the store," she said. "I had about seven people show up, four business owners and three individuals." Two days later, she went to a public town council meeting in White Stone to discuss the formation of NIBA. "A month before that meeting, I had asked if I could make a presentation," she said. "The mayor (who owns a local party/tools rental shop) liked the idea -- they all liked it."

In terms of promoting NIBA and the importance of buying local to the general public, Latham is writing an op-ed for the local newspaper, the Rappahannock Record, to discuss how buying locally is better for the local economy. She said she approached the newspaper about the op-ed after reading an article in the Christian Science Monitor that essentially argued that buying local isn't always the best on either a local or global scale. In her column, Latham plans to outline why "I think it's better for us economically -- to say, I prefer to shop here." And, she added, she will address the misguided notion that shoppers get better prices at a chain store. "There's a big mystique to buying in bulk [results in better prices], and it's just not true," she said. --David Grogan