In my regional town our last mainstream bookstore closed down. We are left with a couple of Christian bookstores and one second-hand bookstore. Now Big W appears to be the main source of reading material.
It’s hard to imagine living in a place without a good bookshop but I guess that’s a reality today for many out-of-the-city places.
I still waste time dreaming of opening up a little bookshop/cafe but where once it might have been viable now it seems it would be financial suicide.
Although a quick google search generated a lot of ideas for how bookstores can compete in this new electronic world – a variety of authors offered their suggestions here while this short piece offered up some interesting ways a bricks and mortar store could embrace the digital world of book selling. This great article on the publishing industry explains how people are reading more than ever, but are accessing books in new ways.
It was heartening to read that many of the ideas I had for my little bookshop were suggested in these articles.
- Variety, sell not just books but stationery, scrapbooking supplies, art, even homewares.
- Have a cafe for socialising and lingering amongst your products.
- Events, turn your store into a centre for community activity, hold classes, author talks, book clubs, demonstrations linked to particular books or merchandise.
- Embrace the digital with an e-book kiosk or QR code where customers could purchase e-book and download over free in-store wifi.
But I guess it’s easy to have ideas when you don’t have the pressure of generating a weekly income for yourself and your staff.
I suppose buying books now for me will have to be online, but I will miss the tactile experience of wandering around a bookstore, browsing through titles and stumbling across new authors.
Do you still go to bookstores? What is it that keeps you visiting (and hopefully buying while you are there)?
If I’m randomly shopping for a book, I’ll go to big w. If I’m looking for something specific, I’ll go to dymocks. But I’m slowly converting my reading to ebooks.
I think I’m the only person in the world still clinging to the good old fashioned book on paper.
I have been reading ebooks on our iPad for a while now but I recently purchased 3 real paper books. I really disliked going back to holding a heavy book and felt quite uncomfortable reading in bed!!!! Reading on the iPad is much easier and it is lighter than a book. I agree the experience of wandering around a bookstore is great and I enjoy it very much but to be honest who has time! I always feel like there is somewhere else I should be or something else I should be doing!!!! With the iPad I can “browse” when I do have time (usually after kids are in bed and the house is quiet)… Surprisingly though my 13yo gave me a book list for Christmas. I told here I would buy her a voucher to download the ebooks and she told me that she wanted real books cause it wasn’t the same reading on her e-reader!! Go figure!!!
I’m trying to get into reading books on iPad but I struggle with it – love that your daughter wants the “real” thing, so retro.
We have an outlet near my home and has been going for a couple of years I think, they seem to do okay. they have a home made bakery and coffee shop in the middle of a small book and stationary store. I do think their coffee shop is what keeps them going though. only surmising. I like the idea of a nice relaxed atmosphere as this.
I suspect every bookstore will have to diversify to survive. So glad that some have!
I haven’t quite made the transition to e-reader, although my son has. I did read somewhere tho that teens in general are preferring actual printed books.
I enjoy browsing bookstores but I don’t often buy books these days, relying on the library instead, mainly because I have moved house so often and am tired of lugging boxes of books around, and disposing of old books had become almost impossible – few secondhand bookstores want then anymore and even charities are reluctant to take them. I can’t bear just putting them in the recycling, so feels better to not accumulate.
However I would hate to see bookstores vanish and am sorry to hear they’ve all gone from your town; at least in the city I still have plenty of choices, at least in the suburbs I spend time in. I hope you do open your Cafe/bookstore one day, I’m sure you’ll come up with some great ideas for it, and remember, coffee at least can be highly profitable.
This sounds like my dream of opening up a greeting card shop. I love the idea of openinga store to build a community around though – sounds a lot like a blog.
Yes, it is a bit “bloggy” isn’t it? Hope you get to open your greeting card shop one day.