Two U.S. Booksellers to Be Featured in New IBF Calendar

Building on the success of its first Unique Bookstores calendar in 2007, the International Booksellers Federation (IBF) is now offering a 2008 calendar, including 48 photographs of bookshop interiors taken in 21 IBF member countries around the word. Among the featured stores are two from the U.S.: Maria's Bookshop in Durango, Colorado, and St. Johns Booksellers in Portland, Oregon.

Maria's, in business since 1984 and co-owned by Peter Schertz and Andrea Avantaggio, offers close to 2,000-square-feet of retail space with high ceilings, exposed brick, and natural wood.

The Maria's photo was taken by Scott D.W. Smith, Imagesmith Photo, a professional photographer and friend of the store. "We had talked on many occasions over the years about having him take interior and exterior photos of Maria's, and these calendar submission deadlines motivated us to get them done," Schertz explained. "[Scott] likes to use people in his shots, and there happened to be customers in the store and a bookseller climbing one of the rolling ladders. It looks like a typical scene in the store."

Schertz said that he and the rest of the staff were "thrilled to have the photo chosen" for inclusion in the calendar.

Portland's 20-month-old St. Johns Booksellers is co-owned by Liz Dorman and Nena Rawdah, business partners who met years ago when both worked at Powell's. Located in the St. Johns neighborhood from which it draws its name, the store is about 20 minutes north of downtown Portland, on the tip of the peninsula formed by the Willamette and Columbia rivers.

Rawdah told BTW that the store's stock is evenly divided between new and used, but two-thirds of sales are for new books. Located on an old streetcar line, the store serves a growing number of young families, and 20 percent of its inventory consists of children's books.  It's not surprising then that the photograph submitted for the IBF calendar, which was taken by Leah Nash, captures a moment when a child eagerly pores over a book. Rawdah described the pictured situation: "We hosted an event for an elementary school a few blocks away. Kids in kindergarten and first grade came with adult buddies, 25 at a time. Each child had $8 to spend on books." The purpose of the field trip, she explained, was to give the children the experience of going to a bookstore, selecting and buying their own books.  "If I could have picked any photo to illustrate our store, this was it," Rawdah said. "The store was filled with excitement and enthusiasm, all the kids with their happy energy. That's the kind of feeling we try to give to all our customers."

The IBF Selection Committee for the calendar pictures included presidents and past presidents of the IBF and EBF (European Booksellers Federation) and its members, among them ABA President Russ Lawrence of Chapter One Book Store in Hamilton, Montana.

The 2008 calendar will be available at the end of April 2007, but bookstores can place preorders now until April 5 at a reduced price. Featured photos and other products in IBF's "I [Love] My Bookshop" promotional line can be viewed and purchased on www.ibf-booksellers.org. For more information regarding the 2008 calendar and other products, contact IBF's Project Manager Emmanuelle Lenain at [email protected].