Around Indies

Changing Hands Owner Intrigues Arizonans

Gayle Shanks, co-owner of Changing Hands in Tempe, Arizona, was recently named one of the state’s most intriguing people in 2010 by the Arizona Republic.

“Over the past 36 years, as so many other independent bookstores have gone under, this one-time hippie and eternal idealist has learned how to surf the economic waves,” said the Republic. “Today, her store is part of a bustling shopping zone in suburban Tempe, a family-friendly hangout with pretty much everything you can find at a Borders, including a colorful children’s section and the obligatory cappuccino, next door at Wildflower Bread Company.”

The city’s demographic landscape has transformed since Shanks founded the business with two partners, including husband Bob Sommer, but, the paper noted, Changing Hands has changed to keep up with the times. The store carries new and used books, and is selling e-books through its website.

Shanks is a former ABA president and was the first president of the Downtown Tempe Community, which works with the city to promote Mill Avenue and run events.

Books & Books Joins the Museum of Art

South Florida’s Sun Sentinel recently reported the start of major renovations to the Museum of Art in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The million-dollar transformations to be completed at the end of the month include the addition of “a boutique outpost of the Coral Gables-based Books & Books,” owned by former ABA President Mitchell Kaplan.

Irvin Lippman, the museum’s executive director hopes the bookstore’s presence will transform the space into a public gathering place that “extends the cultural life of the museum into the city.”

Latitude 33 Celebrates 15 Years

On January 4, Latitude 33, in Laguna Beach, California, celebrated its 15^th anniversary. On the store’s website, owner Tom Ahern listed many of Latitude 33’s accomplishments, including hosting hundreds of author signings and more than 350 events with a local church, as well as hosting a nationally televised Book TV segment, which aired on CSPAN2. Over the past 15 years, the store has earned a reputation as “one of the best bookstores in the West,” he added.

Latitude 33 was featured in the Laguna Beach Independent last week, and Ahern stressed the importance of keeping indie bookstores alive amidst the challenges of the chains and changing technology.

“Purchases at this bookstore, rather than online or from a chain, result in more money staying in this town,” Ahern told the Independent.

Due to the drenching rains that hit California around the holidays, Latitude 33 was closed for a day and a half leading up to Christmas, “but thankfully suffered only a bit of wet carpet,” reported Jennifer Bigelow, executive director of the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association.  “There was no inventory loss. ” The closure was due to street flooding.  Employees had trouble getting to and from the store but suffered no damage to their homes.