Wednesday, December 15, 2010

End of Days for Bookstores? Nope


NPR has the story of a thriving independent bookshop in Brooklyn.

From the piece...

Defying all the naysayers about the future of bookstores — especially in a tough economy — Fitting and Bagnulo opened Greenlight in the Ft. Green section of Brooklyn a year ago. They knew the neighborhood they moved into desperately wanted a bookstore. And that local support has proven to be invaluable.

The store has lots of regular events, like Saturday morning story time for children and high-profile author readings from the likes of Jennifer Egan and Jhumpa Lahiri. But on any given day, it attracts locals like Ft. Green resident Roxanne Powell.

"It's good to have it here and to see it flourishing," Powell says, as she browses the store's collection. "I even feel like I have to stop going to Barnes & Noble and support my local bookstore."

Fitting and Bagnulo know that a delicate combination of factors has to come together to make their particular neighborhood bookstore succeed. But they believe this could be a good time for stores like theirs everywhere. According to Fitting, it's the chain stores, not independent booksellers, which belong to another era.

No comments: