Ninive Bookstore

THE BOOKSTORE

Ninive bookstore opened few years ago in Verona. It is a little and cosy bookstore, specialized in books and games for 6-12 kids.

THE BOOKSELLERS

Ninive is managed by the owner of Jago edizioni, a little editor. The bookseller is an elementary school teacher. She has been writing poetry, organizing events for books promotion, an editor, a journalist and finally a bookseller. The idea of opening a bookstore belongs to the fact that she owned Jago Edizioni.

EDITORS AND DISTRIBUTORS

The first concept for Ninive bookstore was a store specialized in books on the territory, published by little local editors. The bookseller told me that this first concept and attempt failed because of the lack of willingness from her colleagues, the little, local editors.
Another attempt was with Codex as a distributor, but it failed. An other was with Logisma, trying to specialize on music and academic books about music but she said that the high specialization of the texts did not find readers. She is a school teacher, so she thought about specializing in pedagogy books. Soon she realized that school teachers do not have extra money to spend in pedagogy books. So she specialized on books for kids, even if the bookstore offers also second hand books, stationery, toys, cds, local products, narrative, and else.
She praises some editors for being supportive and highlights that others give unbearable conditions.
Little local editors do not seem to be willing to cooperate.
Talking with her I had the feeling that a human distributor would not be any different from an automatic one.

PROMOTION

The bookstore has a website. The website is likeable but, in my opinion, it does not communicate the identity of the library. Everything concerning the website is managed by professional and this leads to high costs.
Ninive uses a Facebook page. The Facebook page is useful for people looking for spaces where to hold presentations, but it does not seem useful to attract people who could join as  public.
The bookseller believes that all the channels used to promote the bookstore, both technological and not, like fairs, are good just to find people who want to sell her something, rather than people willing to buy something.
She tried to host art exhibitions but she says that artists prefer galleries to bookstores.

Local newspapers do not publish her press releases, plus advertising on local newspapers do not work.

RELATIONSHIPS

With Associations
She is part of associations as editor, not as bookseller, but she does not find them useful.

With other bookstores
She would be willing to meet other booksellers but she thinks that they would not be as willing as she is.
She keeps in contact with a couple of booksellers but just because of previous friendships.

With libraries
Again she has relationships with libraries as editor, giving her books to libraries or free.

With clients
The relationship with clients is built and kept thanks to the time that she has to dedicate to them.

Note _ first choices

After the first month of research and the first conclusions I considered some concepts:

1) working for-with ALI to create a new service package that would effectively benefit indie booksellers.
2) designing the concept of the new generation of bookstores where the good aspect would be emphasized while the obsolete would be minimized.
3) trying to connect local indie bookstores in a common project

Since I already met most of the booksellers located in the city center of  Verona, and since I believe in reality rooted projects I am going for the third.

Next steps are:

_ to finish to map the indie bookstores located in the city centre of Verona and to interview their booksellers
_ to investigate the possibility of involving the public library
_ to convince at least 3 booksellers to gather and try to work together for two or three hours and see what we get co-designing and design-thinking.

Note _ first findings

After the first month of general research on topics related to bookstores I sum up the key findings:

Italy

_ Each city/area/community makes a different case study for indie bookstores, from the economical and social point of view.
_ Indie bookstores are isolated from each other both locally and nationally. They are all threatened by big chains, but they are wary of other indie bookstores nonetheless. They consider bookstores of other cities weakly relevant to their possible improvements. Nevertheless, those attitudes seem a kind of dull heritage rather than a firm belief. When questioned they show willing to meet their local colleagues.
_ They consider the subscription to sector associations (ALI) unworthy spending any money, time or effort.
_ Booksellers see themselves as culture promoters rather than booksellers.
_ Booksellers are pretty frustrated. They struggle and they do not have the time or the money to spend for business ventures. Frustration can be a source of either will or opposition to the project. I must consider that the opposition will be the prevalent.
_ Face to face relationships are dominant and essential for any future development in the field.
_ Booksellers are paper lovers, low tech people. They embrace technology only if it is necessary.

World

_ All the successful projects around books seem to share the feature "lively". Of course,  we can wonder if "lively"  comes truly before their success rather than after so I will deepen the topic.
_ Successful bookstores have a recipe. Their identity is strong, and they all specialize on something: poetry, travels, kids, second hand, art, etc

Verona Map

This map shows the position of indie bookstores, libraries, bookstore chains and big stores selling lots of books (Fnac) in the city center of Verona.

Apparently Verona is an extraordinary case study about bookstores in Italy. The very city centre hosts around 30 bookstores, an extraordinary amount for a small city like Verona.

Fahrenheit: Books on air

Fahrenheit is a radio program of Radio 3 started in 1999.

It is defined as "an afternoon of books and ideas". It offers interviews, books presentations, author talks, music, poetry, narrative, mind games and live connections with bookstores, libraries, book and art festivals.

Pagina 3 is an other radio program of Radio3. It aims to comment and deepen the content of cultural news and it is on air at 9 a.m.

The renassaince of literary salons

I just read in an article that relatively many book clubs appeared in the last years.
They are different from traditional literary salons: they are less fancy and more egalitarian, nevertheless they are places where to discuss about ideas and texts.
There is no recepy, no one formula for contemporary literary salons: they all show different featurs and aim to different targets.

Upper Wimpole Street Salon

"The Upper Wimpole Street Literary Salon provides a forum for women writers to meet and exchange ideas about ongoing work. We are a diverse group of over 100 writers from the fields of biography, journalism, fiction, poetry and scriptwriting. We meet about 5 times a year in central London. Each salon features members presenting a recently published book or a work-in-progress. Our informal setting allows for frank discussion of our craft and of the particular challenges women writers face in promoting and publishing their work."
Drinks, snacks, reading, interview and talk around an author last for two hours and costs 10 Pound. 
Parisian (and Londonese) Literary Salon: no more than 10 participants gather three hours for 4-6 times to study a book or an author, paying 38 Euros each.
Velvet Tongue Salon, London: once every three months paying three Pound you can discuss about selected porn texts.
Pen Parentis, Manhattan: only for writing parents.
Polari, London: gay fiction only, enriched by contemporary music and art. Based in the Southbank Center of London.
Shoreditchhouse, London: pizza and one cocktail are for free while the literary salon-event takes place.


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                  Tyrone Lebon A reading at the Shoreditch House Literary Salon.

"London: There’s a post-bubble revival under way, mixing homegrown culture, reclaimed buildings and vintage-clad traditionalists.

In a city that once considered book talk to be gauche in the extreme, people currently speak of little else. Literary salons are sprouting all over: in sawdusty pubs, at clubs with rooftop pools, at art centers and in private drawing rooms. "

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Goodreads

"Goodreads is a "social cataloging" website founded in December 2006 and launched in January 2007 by Otis Chandler, a software engineer and entrepreneur, and Elizabeth Chandler.^[2][3] The website allows individuals to freely search their extensive database of books, annotations and reviews. Users are able to sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and reading lists. Users can also create their own groups of book suggestions and discussions."

reference

Today it counts over 10.000.000 fans, and 360.000.000 catalogued books.
It is like a huge word of mouth engine.

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Other social social networking- cataloging websites are 

Shelfari, now owned by Amazon; 

Anobii, most popular in Italy;

Douban, Chinese, "has about 53 million^[1] registered users in 2011 and as of March 2012, it ranks the 106th most popular website worldwide and 20th in China according to Alexa Internet" (Wikipedia). It is interesting that "Douban has attracted a large number of intellectuals who are eager to discuss social issues. This makes douban vulnerable to be outlawed by the Chinese government. " (Wikipedia)

LibraryThing, used by individuals, authors, libraries and publishers.

Bookarmy, launched in 2009 and closed in 2010.

Whai Whai game/guide

Whai whai is a great example of books combining paper books and new technologies.

"Any city can become the setting for an adventure where you are the hero. Discover original tales and solve enigmas as you explore the city in a game scenario. Begin your personal itinerary whenever you wish and arrange it however you like. Our guides are unconventional: they are collections of jumbled short stories that become readable one at a time as you solve enigmas and send your answers via text message. Each city has a unique character. That’s why each guidebook tells a different tale, through a collection of short stories about its most fascinating places. The narrative plunges you into the city’s ambience, while the individual short stories are the keys to discovering it and learning about it. With WHAIWHAI, you’ll move away from the beaten tourist track and go where the city’s more unfamiliar spirit is hidden. You can start your experience at any time. You can play alone or in a group, in the city or even from the comfort of your own home with new sofa mode."

Indie Bound: Indie Association

"IndieBound is a community-oriented movement begun by the independent bookseller members of the American Booksellers Association and adopted into the UK in 2010. 

It brings together booksellers, readers, indie retailers, local business alliances, and anyone else with a passionate belief that healthy local economies help communities thrive. Supporting local, independent businesses means that pounds, jobs, diversity and choices stay local, creating strong, unique communities.

The American Booksellers Association designed IndieBound as a combination of book marketing, indie bookshop promotion, and the growing ‘shop local’ phenomenon. 

The BA’s Independent Booksellers Forum (IBF), seeing what had happened in the US and keen to create strong, positive messages about independence and the high street in the UK, adopted the programme on behalf of its independent members, taking the first step in making IndieBound global.  IndieBound has now also been taken up in Australia and New Zealand.

Independent bookshops are increasingly a destination of choice, especially for consumer who want to be part of their community. Very often, bookshops are already at the heart of a community, and a place where customers discover their next great book and where they meet somebody to talk with about it. Independent booksellers are uniquely placed to talk to their customers about independence and about sustaining a healthy high street."

Reference

The Bookstore Training Group

"Since 1992, the Bookstore Training and Consulting Group of Paz & Associates has been devoted to helping people who’ve had a dream of owning their own bookstore.

We’ve introduced prospective owners to the book industry, provided intensive training and individual consulting to hundreds of independent booksellers and conducted workshops and seminars for bookstore associations around the globe.The experience and advice you receive is based on our broad reach in retail bookselling.

We’ve worked with independent bookstores of all sizes and specialties with different community dynamics and competitive challenges. We love a challenge and thrive on helping develop each new bookstore to become a champion of reading and lifelong learning.

Paz & Associates is a partner of the American Booksellers Association, exclusively providing training to those entering retail bookselling. Publishers Weekly has relied on us since 1994 to chair the Bookseller of the Year Award, a project that allows us to identify and celebrate the best in bookselling."

They offer a list of services:

bookstore design

inventory selection

merchandising

marketing

signage

business valuation

coaching and consulting

and workshops,  guides, videos, articles, references, links...

Beauty and the Book: Tiara wearing, Beauty and Book sharing

Beauty and the Book is doubtless a case study. I am overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of the description so I will paste it here so you can be overwhelmed as well.

It is “the ONLY Hair Salon/Book Store in the WORLD!”

I started The Pulpwood Queens of East Texas Book Club in March, 2000 with six total strangers. That soon grew to over 150 members shortly after opening my Beauty and the Book, the ONLY Hair Salon/Book Store in the World! 

Thanks to ABC’s television program, Good Morning America, where we were featured kicking off their “READ THIS” Book Club with Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gipson, our book club exploded into literary promoting action. 

We now have chapters running all across the United States, from Alaska to Florida, to California, to New York, and almost everywhere in-between. We are NOT just a southern book club anymore and certainly not your mother’s book club. We have over 500 chapters nationwide with thousands of members, now gone INTERNATIONAL with members and chapters in 15 foreign countries!

We are also now  the largest “meeting and discussing” book club in the world whose members are “all on the same page” as we all read the books that I personally read and select each month. Go to our Book Selections page to read our full reading list.

...

Our motto is “Where tiaras are mandatory and reading good books is the RULE!”

Our sole mission is to promote, books, literacy, reading, and great authors, and to help undiscovered authors get discovered in a really big way!
...

 You can join individually and follow along online, join one of our already existing chapters, or we will crown you HEAD QUEEN of a NEW chapter which can be The Pulpwood Queens of whatever name you choose, say your city or local region.

When I started this book club, I threw out all of the rules! My book club was going to be fun, not homework. As I always say, “If it isn’t big time fun, then why do it!”.

...

Here is the deal. It is so easy. Do you love to read good books and have always dreamed of being a QUEEN? Well then, gather your girlfriends in a fun place, have an organizational meeting, and become a member of The Pulpwood Queens and Timber Guys Book Club!

Here is all you need to know on how to become a member:

Each member is to pay $50.00 for membership. You all must wear a tiara, as they are MANDATORY! You MUST read the book of the month, how simple is that!

As Head Queen, you will be my contact and act as moderator for the book club and will receive extra benefits for starting this venture. 
...

We have annual gatherings each year that will be Author, Book, Literary, and Reading Extravaganzas including:

Girlfriend Weekend, our Annual Pulpwood Queen and Timber Guy Convention that we host, always held the third weekend in January right here in historical Jefferson, Texas.

...

We sometimes do ROAD TRIPS to author events or book festivals and have even taken Literary Tours of France, Italy, and England with the Pulpwood Queens, a Pulpwood Queen Cruise and more book adventures in the works. 

...

Reading is a win, win, WIN situation and to me a book is the ultimate vacation from life. Books and reading to me are the highest form of entertainment as they educate and enlighten the reader and involve our own imaginations. Believe you me, with us working like crazy, running our households, car-pooling all our kiddos and granbabies, we need a much deserved and needed break! So grab a tiara and let’s get to READING BIG TIME!

Tiara wearing, Beauty and Book sharing.

Kathy L. Patrick
Hairdresser to the Authors!"

Books about the world of books

God save the queen.
I still have to start to read one of the books I found about the world of books and here a find a complete series. Among the titles:

Libro e Internet (Books and internet)
La Lettura in Italia (Reading in Italy)
Internet nel Lavoro Editoriale (Internet for Editors)
Marketing dei Libri (Book Marketing)
Aprire una Libreria (Opening a Bookstore)

It is meaningful to note that those guide-like books are the development of a series that was looking to historical book related issues with the first titles.

Bookstore tourism

"I've always said that the goal of Bookstore Tourism is to support independent bookstores by promoting them as a group travel destination. "

"At first the Bookstore Tourism idea was merely for fun, but it gradually turned into a mission when I saw how many indie booksellers around the country were struggling to compete with large bookstore chains, online retailers, and more recently, the rise of the e-book.  I wanted to remind readers everywhere how important it is to support their local indies if they don't want them fading into oblivion."

"Some folks continue to do literary road trips here and there, but the Recession has certainly taken a toll.  I think Bookstore Tourism will rise again, though.  It offers nothing but benefits: to the bookselling and travel industries, to other local retailers, to sponsoring organizations, to campaigns for reading and literacy, and on and on.

Like I told a reporter once: "If they can load people onto a bus and take them to outlet malls for the day, why can't they do the same with indie bookstores?"

Libreria Galla

Galla is the surname of a booksellers' family in Vicenza, Italy.
Giovanni Galla opened (the first) Libreria Galla in 1880. Today, in Vicenza, Galla means bookstore.

As you can see in the map above Galla owns five stores in the city centre:

Galla Libreria _ the main store
Galla Girapagina _ 0-16 specialized bookstore
Galla Duemila _ specialized academic bookstore
Galla Caffè _ a coffee shop part of Galla Libreria but identified as the reference point for events and such
Galla Cartoleria _ stationery store

and one store outside the city: Galla Liberalibro.

Galla is also an editor.

Galla's website is well done: it manages to describe a clear image of Galla's history and stores. It reports events, and it offers services.
The life is hard for other booksellers in Vicenza. Even big chains are challenged by Galla.
Galla managed to become an institution for its own city.
I found this case interesting for two features:

_ the authority of Galla, capable to fight the authority of big chains like Feltrinelli and Mondadori. Galla's authority is made by its age, its birthplace and lively relationships that Galla constantly keeps with the local community.
_ the 'family' of Galla stores as part of its strength.

Alberto Galla, current manager, wrote a book with Giovanni Peresson (AIE) on guidelines for who wish to open a bookstore .

Good Book Service Provider

Good Book.it is, as they claim, the first Italian service to book books on-line, to then find and buy them at your favourite bookstore.

GoodBook philosophy addresses three topics:

_ the love for reading, enhanced by the service;
_ bookstores, empowered through technology;
_ the local community, enriched by local bookstores;

The service offered by GoodBook is fine and the topic addressed by its philosophy are right and hot, though the consistence of the topics is not balanced by the consistence of the service.
I was glad to find this service but the feeling is still that the books world is chasing the present insted of leading its own future. 

The Book that can't Wait

video

New Zeland Reading Campaign

New Zeland Book Coucil video

UK Reading Promotion

UK National Year of Reading, TVad. 2008

The Joy of Books: Promotional Video

video by crazedadman on YouTube, animating the shelving of books at Type Bookstore in Toronto.

Bookstores Evolution

Bookstores have always been providing services.

Traditionally a bookseller:

_ selects titles for its clients;
_ counsel its clients on new books, pointing them out and making reviews;
_ tracks and gets books that are difficult to find;
_ be a bridge between authors, readers, distributors and editors;
_ ...

Listing those services, and thinking about bookstores as they were in the XX century, we may think that they were a sort of culture authority. The relationship between booksellers and clients was vertical, the bookseller was a reference point.

___

There are then case studies referring to bookstores providing extraordinary services but that is about individual booksellers rather than about tradition:

_ being a cultural centre;
_ being an editor;
_ hosting events;
_ organizing courses and meetings;
_...

Listing those services, and considering the pioneers of new kinds of bookstores, we may say that bookstores gradually became culture promoters. The bookseller were still reference point, but the distance between bookseller and clients grew shorter: where clients used to go to booksellers, now booksellers started to go towards clients too.

___

There are trends describing that some services are worth to be integrated in a bookstore business model, reason why they are becoming more and more common:

_ organizing courses, workshops, concerts, shows...;
_ hosting art exhibitions;
_ hosting people for a cup of coffee or a relaxing break;
_ ...

Again we may try to describe bookstores as they seem to be nowadays: cultural and social hosts. Today the bookseller is seldomly an authoritative reference point: the relationship between clients and booksellers is now horizontal. Clients expect booksellers to offer them a reason why to go to them: promotion sometimes looks like a cultural crusade.

It is interesting to notice the success of those bookstores welcoming culture as a horizontal social exchange, and where "books" is a product, hosting and exchange are services.

Shakespeare and Co

Photo by Elizabeth Harper

 Jeanette Winterson for the Guardian:

"(In 1913) the original Shakespeare and Company was opened by a young American called Sylvia Beach. Her shop in rue de l'Odéon soon became the place for all the English-speaking writers in Paris. Her lover, Adrienne Monnier, owned the French bookstore across the road, and she and Beach ran back and forth, finding penniless writers a place to stay, lending them books, arranging loans, taking their mail, sending their work to small magazines and, most spectacularly, publishing James Joyce's Ulysses in 1922 when no one else would touch it.

Hemingway was a regular at the shop, and writes about it in his memoir A Moveable Feast. ... It was Hemingway, as a major in the US army, who at the liberation of Paris in 1945 drove his tank straight to the shuttered Shakespeare and Company and personally liberated Sylvia Beach. ...

George (Whitman, who carried on Beach's tradition) took in the beat poets Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso. Henry Miller ate from the stewpot, but was too grand to sleep in the tiny writers' room. Anaïs Nin left her will under George's bed. There are signed photos from Rudolf Nureyev and Jackie Kennedy, signed copies of Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs. (...)

George opened his doors midday to midnight, and the deal then is the deal now: sleep in the shop, on tiny beds hidden among the bookstacks; work for two hours a day helping out with the running of the place; and, crucially, read a book a day, whatever you like, but all the way through, unless maybe it's War and Peace, in which case you can take two days. ...

At any time there are six or more young people from the compass points of the world, reading, talking, thinking, boiling spaghetti in the kettle, running across the road to the public showers, stacking, carrying, selling, stock-taking, and all in a spirit of energy and enterprise that is not to be found in any chain bookstores. They stay for two weeks or two months, and some just sleep outside on a bench until there's room inside."

Photo by Julie Eagleton

As it seems, the business model of Shakespeare and Company finds in beds a key element. 

Rather than combining bookselling to B&B activities, in this case beds recall the business model of Literaturhause: this bookstore is a "true home" for literature, and so, for authors, readers and book lovers of any kind. 

The LAst Bookstore and comments

"...People seemed to especially enjoy selling their used books to us, as one of the last places in LA still buying books.  Our inventory quickly overflowed the shelves, and at the end of our lease June 2011 the Last Bookstore moved to the 10,000 sq. ft location at 5th & Spring St.  A record shop and coffee bar filled out the ground floor September, 2011.  Most recently, we expanded another 6,100 sq. ft. by opening up the Labyrinth Above the Last Bookstore on our mezzanine level, with over 100,000 books all priced at one dollar each!  Now we’ve become the largest independent bookstore in southern CA buying and selling used & new books and records.

The name was chosen with irony, but it has become a self-fulfilling prophecy as physical bookstores are dying out like dinosaurs from the meteoric impact of Amazon and e-books.  With our constant turnover of stock, regular musical and literary events, and coffee and vinyl LP shop, we book-lovers at the Last Bookstore hope to last as long as we can in downtown LA’s vibrant new community.  Join the cause!  Buy, sell, trade, and above all read real books…before they’re gone."

photo by Kim Garcia

Here are some comments about it:

"A very fitting name for a bookstore in today's age of e-books, e-readers, and the internet where it's getting harder for print media to be relevant."

comment on The Last Bookstore, LA - US, posted by Ron J. on Yelp
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"Whenever I go there I try to buy at least one book to help out even though I have so many books and who knows when I'll get to read them all. It's just such a beautiful sanctuary of books, glorious books!
(...)  Lots of nooks and crannies."

comment on The Last Bookstore, LA-US, posted by Eva K. on Yelp
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"I came on a Monday night. found free street parking right by the store and as soon i enter, i hear wonderful singing. Apparently, Monday nights people get to perform (poems, songs, readings,&etc) It's a wonderful venue for inner artists to release their skills to a supportive audience.
(...) also LOVE that there are chairs throughout the store for people to browse through book selections before taking them home. The decor, art, and spaciousness really sets this place apart. A jem for sure."

comment on The Last Bookstore, LA-US, posted by Vheryl J. on yelp
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The User

As I am collecting insights on booksellers, I will collect insights on users.

I was trying to collect some first hand information about Literaturhause, so I contacted a friend of mine who lives in Koln. He said: "I lived in the area a few years ago. Unfortunately, I am no part of the literature scene". He is an artist and a musician. His answer surprised me, especially considering that Literaturhause hosts art exhibitions and live music. I still have to deepen his point of view, but I had to consider that:

some people feel attracted by bookstores;

some are indifferent to bookstores;

some people are repelled by bookstores.

Shall I work for/on group A, B or C?
Shall I choose, or shall I find something good for each of them?
Shall I find a way to converge them all into the group A?

The Bookseller

There are things about booksellers that would not be nice to mention in dedicated posts.
I am going to collect them here.



The Selfish Bookseller
When I asked her if there were stores that inspired her she said "of course!"
When I asked her if she could mention some and tell me what was special about them she said: "...I don't think so. It took me years to find all my favourite stores, if I tell you their names and you public the list, it is too easy for another bookseller to copy me."

note. Most probably this is not selfishness, but lack of self-confidence. Nevertheless, this kind of attitude is not uncommon among people and booksellers, thus something to be considered.

Reluctant Capitalists

A University of Chicago Press Book

Reluctant Capitalists : Bookselling and the Culture of Consumption

Over the past half-century, bookselling, like many retail industries, has evolved from an arena dominated by independent bookstores to one in which chain stores have significant market share. And as in other areas of retail, this transformation has often been a less-than-smooth process. This has been especially pronounced in bookselling, argues Laura J. Miller, because more than most other consumer goods, books are the focus of passionate debate. What drives that debate? And why do so many people believe that bookselling should be immune to questions of profit?

In Reluctant Capitalists, Miller looks at a century of book retailing, demonstrating that the independent/chain dynamic is not entirely new. It began one hundred years ago when department stores began selling books, continued through the 1960s with the emergence of national chain stores, and exploded with the formation of “superstores” in the 1990s. The advent of the Internet has further spurred tremendous changes in how booksellers approach their business. All of these changes have met resistance from book professionals and readers who believe that the book business should somehow be “above” market forces and instead embrace more noble priorities.

Miller uses interviews with bookstore customers and members of the book industry to explain why books evoke such distinct and heated reactions. She reveals why customers have such fierce loyalty to certain bookstores and why they identify so strongly with different types of books. In the process, she also teases out the meanings of retailing and consumption in American culture at large, underscoring her point that any type of consumer behavior is inevitably political, with consequences for communities as well as commercial institutions.

 reference

I hope I will manage to read it soon.

Literaturhaus

I discovered Literaturhaus thanks to an article written by Ivan from BSG (Bookstoreguide).

Here there are some passages but I recommend you to read the full article.

"The concept originated in Germany, where the very first of these Houses was opened in Berlin back in 1986. It has slowly spread through several German cities and subsequently to some other countries as well. (...)

In the German speaking countries 11 of these Houses (8 from Germany, 2 from Austria and one from Switzerland) created an organization 'Literaturhaus.net', which coordinates common projects and even awards an annual literary prize.(...)"

"Reading about the principles behind the House of Literature project is like reading any other material published by an NGO with noble ideals – bittersweet sci-fi. None of its basic principles seem to fit into the free-market reality of the Western world. (...)

The fact that this specific sci-fi became a true story in reality can serve as an inspiration for many others and it proves that, from time to time, the most improbable projects see the light of the day."


"The number of books sold is not the only criterion by which the success of this enterprise is judged. In fact, the bookstores which form a part of most of these institutions are more like a complementary to more general goals the Houses try to fulfill. Promoting literature, as vague as it may sound, is the unifying ambition, (...)

They offer an exclusive space for the self-realization of authors, translators, critics, theoreticians, booksellers, publishers, journalists and all literature enthusiasts."

"Other forms of art – music, film or fine arts, especially in forms connected to the literary world receive a lot of coverage as well. Most of the Houses also contain a multilingual bookstore and even their own library while some of them organize annual literary festivals."


" It is very important to realize that these institutions are far away from a local independent bookstore where the owner makes most, if not all, of the decisions regarding its future. Houses of Literature are big conglomerates in every sense of this word and their successful functioning requires a very high level of cooperation between different sections and all the organizations involved. Good management is as important as a strong belief in the principles and ideals of the Literaturhaus project.

(...) the power of the Houses of Literature lies in their ability cooperate with a wide variety of organizations and thus multiply their potential to offer quality events in different fields.

The strategy adopted by the Houses relies on diversifying the financial resources instead of relying on a single income source. One of the ways to cover the expenses is renting out their premises for cultural events (...) Some of the activities are also financially supported by the governments of the given country. Another important source of income is represented by donations from individuals, interest groups or foundations."

"We think that the true value of this project lies within the general message that it is dedicated to spreading. Recreating and supporting the notion of literature with a deeper meaning and impact, literature as an end in itself, not just a means to generate profit. (...)

Literaturhaus is a space where literature has found not only its shelter but also home. The fact that special places like these exist and are actually growing in number is definitely something to build on."

reference

Farfilò : 0-6 specialized bookstore

THE BOOKSTORE

Farfilò opened in Verona during 2012.

It is a specialised bookstore for children 0-6 years old where books are presented as exceptional toys.

Its slogan is "gioco. leggo. creo." (Play. Read. create.)

THE BOOKSELLERS

Paola and Lucia are Farfilò's managers.

Paola is the mother of a little child while Lucia has a ten year long experience in the children area of the public library. In addition to this Lucia attended a weekend course at Centostorie  an innovative specialised bookstore in Rome offering, also, courses for booksellers.

EDITORS AND DISTRIBUTORS

Specialised fairs and salesmen are the main contact point with editors and distributors. Nevertheless the web is useful. The limit of catalogues (both paper and digital) is that the possibility of checking the actual book is crucial, especially regarding books for 0-6 children.

Clients looking for titles are an valuable source of new books at Farfilò.

PROMOTION

Farfilò manages a lively page on Facebook, where Paola and Lucia:

_ promote upcoming events and products;

_ post pictures taken at the store during events;

_ post creative ideas found on-line, to build a stronger relationship with their clients.

They see the need for a website.

A website would be a better window for the store. It would be a channel for deepening and research material, and a structured container for pictures and updates. Furthermore, Facebook works for people younger than 40 years old, while, usually, older people prefer a traditional website.

Farfilò often organises activities like Laboratori a voca alta (Loud Labs), meetings where children are playfully introduced to books. Furthermore, it organises activities in nurseries and primary schools to promote reading.

RELATIONSHIPS

With associations

Farfilò does not belong to any association yet. Paola is considering to be part of ALI, but she thinks that, considering the size of the store, local networks and the word of mouth is probably more relevant than national associations. Farfilò cooperates with Il Melograno, an association aiming to support parenthood especially before and during the first years of the child; Farfilò cooperates also with Fuoriscala  an association that creates events to value public spaces and people; an other collaboration is with  Trick Animation Festival  held in Verona.

Lucia says that they wish to establish as many collaborations as possible.

With other bookstores

Farfilò does not have contacts with other bookstores yet. Paola seems interested in contacting other bookstores specialised in 0-6 years old children, as well as other local bookstores, to exchange ideas and to organize activities.

With libraries

Lucia is constantly in contact with the local public library.

She worked there for a few years and now there are many projects shared by the bookstore and the library.

The collaborations between Farfilò and the Library is so lively and fruitful for two main reasons:

_ Lucia knows the library's staff, and there is no need to "open" a dialogue

_ the chief manager of Verona's libraries supports the promotion of reading among kids: he is promoter for  Nati per Leggere  (born to read)

NOTE. Lucia recognises that booksellers see libraries as competitors where she thinks that they are not. Furthermore, she thinks that the spacial and social surroundings of a bookstore are essential to its identity and success: a bookstore must be an integrate part of its neighbourhood.

Indie Bookstores: recipe 2

"Independent Booksellers: What Can Be Done to Help?"

 is a valuable article written by Abigail Rhodes for TheBookstoreGuide. The article refers especially to the UK, but the following thoughts are  international. 

"During my research for this piece I came across many voices citing the internet as one of the causes of the demise of the independent bookshop. Yet the more research I did, the further it became apparent that when the internet is mentioned what people are actually referring to is Amazon.co.uk.

(...) How can independent booksellers overcome these enormous retail powerhouses?
The first way is to join them, because it’ll be difficult to beat them. As an independent publisher, Spokesman Books is in a position to supply many wholesalers. However, they require big discounts that are only just sustainable.

(...)However, what I have described above isn’t possible for those who are selling books published by others, so my second suggestion is one that is already underway. Independent booksellers need to find a niche in the market, one that enables them to stand out from the big, indistinctive chain stores. 

(...)Our books here at Spokesman had a rare outing to stall at a local book festival held this June in Lowdham, Nottinghamshire. During the course of the day I spoke with the other stallholders, some of whom were local writers and publishers and some were bookshop owners. I asked these people how they were coping in the economic climate and how they are getting customers into their shops. The majority of replies focussed on similar themes – events and atmosphere.

(...)Independent bookshops want customers to come to the shop, but not simply to buy the books they sell. They are encouraging an active participation by their local communities within their local communities, so the shops themselves become an integral part of the neighbourhood. In today’s individualistic society people look for a place to belong; they enjoy being a part of something alongside those that live around them. 

(...)So, by providing an inspiring and caring environment within their bookshops the independents draw people in, and by creating a culture, or identity, independent bookshops are not only becoming a part of everyday life for shoppers, they are also creating a space for people to enjoy books outside of their own homes.

(...)"