Rebekah Kim
Independents' Week
local bookstores still have a place in new york city
PrintThe words “local” and “independent” conjure images of quaint storefronts set in sharp relief against a sea of corporate façades. Preserving these unique spaces in the face of the pristine uniformity of chain stores and the cyber marketplace seems reason enough to choose independent booksellers over Barnes & Noble or Amazon.
But patronizing local bookshops is much more than a nostalgic gesture—it offers real economic and cultural advantages, and, as one group hopes, represents the way of the future.
This month, the Independent Bookstores of New York City is coordinating the first Independent Bookstore Week—a celebration that will include author events at bookshops all over the city. Running from November 15 to the 21st, Independent Bookstore Week is the IBNYC’s first large-scale effort to rouse public enthusiasm for these local stores.
Book Culture Executive Manager Annie Shapiro, who is organizing the kickoff party at the Powerhouse Arena in Brooklyn, hopes that the week’s events will generate excitement and participation. “We want to remind people of the vital importance of independent bookstores and that only by shopping at these stores will they stick around,” she says.
The IBNYC first met in May 2008. Conceived by Shapiro and Chris Doeblin, the owner of Book Culture, the IBNYC comprises an enthusiastic group of 20 independent booksellers including Doeblin, Sarah McNally of McNally-Jackson, Henry Zook of Book Court, and Beth Puffer, general manager and book buyer at Bank Street Bookstore. Its aim is simple: to publicize the city’s local bookshops and redirect business toward smaller neighborhood stores.
“We’ve watched a lot of children grow up over the years,” says Puffer, who began working at Bank Street when it was only a small space in the lobby of the Bank Street College of Education. In 1990 the specialty children’s bookstore moved to its present location on the corner of Broadway and 112th. In his 23 years at Bank Street Bookstore, Puffer has seen a decline in the number of both small publishers and independent bookstores. But she remains optimistic: “People are opening new stores and I think that might be a sign of the future. We’re very hopeful.”
Puffer, who also sits on the board of directors of the American Booksellers Association, notes that the aims of these kinds of organizations align with the current interests of American consumers. “There is a feeling among consumers that local is good and we are very much a part of that movement,” she says.
Doeblin, who has worked as an independent bookseller in New York City for over 25 years, is emphatic about the economic benefits of shopping at independents. “We make a greater contribution in the sense that all of our expenses and all of the tax dollars generated by every ounce of payroll go right back into our local community,” he explains. “By contrast, a lot of the money that’s made by them [big chain stores] goes to shareholders who may live in Japan, or Latin America, or Chicago.”
Since opening its doors in 1997 as Labyrinth Books, Book Culture has been integral to Columbia and Morningside Heights. For students and professors, purchasing books from Book Culture instead of the Barnes & Noble-run Columbia bookstore constitutes an act of participation in the growth and vitality of Columbia’s neighborhood.
Besides sustaining the local economy, Doeblin explains that indies offer variety and access to alternative books that is necessary for a healthy exchange of ideas. He cites a recent incident in which Amazon temporarily removed rankings for LGBT-themed titles. Amazon first justified the change as a response to the “adult” content of these books, then later claimed that it was the result of a glitch.
“Whether or not it was the accident, it points up the danger of having choices about what’s available go through just a couple of channels,” says Doeblin.
Similarly, he recalls that when Salman Rushdie’s “Satanic Versus” was first published in 1988, it created so much controversy that Barnes & Noble refused to carry it.
But many of the independents defiantly stocked up: “We had a pile of those books as tall as I am [at Book Forum, an independent bookstore], and we sold every single one,” Doeblin says.
Shapiro, who is in charge of purchasing trade books for Book Culture, agrees: “The more bookstores there are, the more buyers you have choosing books to be sold, the more voices ultimately get heard. A greater diversity of bookstores is good for authors and for readers.”
The IBNYC’s endeavor is an affirmation of Doeblin’s notion that “we are not out on a limb by ourselves. Publishers, readers, media, city planners and communitarians of all kinds are behind what we do.”
And what they do is increasingly relevant. While browsing the shelves and tables at the Bank Street Bookstore or Book Culture, there is a sense of coherence that a centralized computer server cannot duplicate. Here, each book reflects the tastes and sensibilities of booksellers who are intimately acquainted with every title and with their patrons.
Shopping at independents provides meaningful, reciprocal contact with people who love books. It represents, in Doeblin’s words, “a better way to live.”
To view the full schedule of IBNYC events, visit www.ibnyc.org.
12 November 2009
vol. 7, issue 9
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