The introduction of the Internet Sales Tax bill in Colorado a couple of months ago caught most of us in-state with our pants around our ankles. With just two days to prepare, but with tremendous support from David Grogan of the American Booksellers Association, email alerts with sample letters were fired off to Colorado booksellers for them to send to their legislators, booksellers David Bolduc of the Boulder Bookstore, Neil Strandberg of Tattered Cover, and myself (ED of MPIBA) scrambled to do our homework so that we could testify before the House Appropriations Committee. David Bolduc in particular, who is very plugged into the Boulder business scene and local government, hit the streets to talk to everyone he knew on the City Council, Downtown Business Association, Independent Business Allliance (which he founded), and myriad others, rallying them to contact their legislators.
Our relative lack of preparedness was pointed up when it came time for testimony. Testifying in favor of the bill were the three of us plus just one more person, the lobbyist for the Colorado Retail Federation. Signed up to testify against: 73 people from an affililates group, plus one voluble lady decked out in the stars and stripes who was against taxation, period. And while it was GREAT to have the fellow there from the CRF, we had never even met or spoken with him before that day. During the meeting and in the days afterwards, as the amended, greatly watered-down, language for the bill was made public, it became clear that the committee had been very influenced by the sheer numbers of warm bodies who showed up to protest against the bill.
The Committee was actually considering eight or ten proposed bills that day, all of them intended to mitigate the sad condition of the state budget by taxing groups and services which hitherto had been exempt. Natural allies for us, including teachers and school administrators and health care workers, were in the room to testify in favor of another bill that would have funneled more tax money to education, but we had never spoken to them before, either.
Lesson learned: Booksellers in every state should begin NOW to identify and strategize with groups who are our natural allies in the cause of passing Sales Tax laws in every state where sales tax exists. The list is actually quite long and, in addition to bricks and mortar regional and local retailers, including Wal-Mart (yes, they collect and remit sales tax for online sales in all states where it is required), commercial property owners (shopping centers), education, health, and budget advocates, and unions in both the retail and public sector.
A terrific handout was prepared by the California Tax Reform Association and the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association, who have been battling for an Internet Sales Tax law for years. They calculated that not collecting sales tax for online purchases cost California $485 million annually. Then they did the research and came up with a list of programs that could be funded with that much money. Some items on the "We could" list include:
We could fix 300,000 potholes for $15 million.
We could provide music programs to 2000 public schools for $72 million.
We could hire 500 police officers for $45 million
We could give 8,000 senior citizens served by Adult Day Health Care access to two additional days of supervised care for $27 million.
The list goes on and it is very very powerful.
The bill that was ultimately passed by the Colorado legislature was a disappointment but nevertheless was a very important step in the process and provided invaluable lessions for e-fairness advocates to use going forward. As Nancy Colalillo, owner of Tome on the Range bookstore in Las Vegas, NM, reminded me yesterday, e-fairness activism is not just for bricks and mortar retailers and the other groups noted above - every citizen who benefits from sales-tax funded state services such as decent roads, police and fire departments, schools, health services, and more has a vested interest in e-fairness - they just may not realize it!
Lisa D. Knudsen, Executive Director, MPIBA
Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona
I lament publishers pulling back on the number of sales reps that they have visiting independent bookstores across the country. These reps are like old time peddlers, selling more than the wares in their suitcases. They bring news from one store to another about creative displays, the well-being of colleagues, how an event with an author was staged and how many books were sold, an employee who is great on Edelweiss or Above the Treeline who might help with a problem, and many other bits of news that make us better booksellers. They also form relationships with our staff by talking with them about the books they are reading, the subjects they love, the authors they swoon over. They come early to the sales call with bagels and coffee for the staff and spend time telling them about the books just dropping or a new title coming later in the season. These rep pick sessions have been invaluable to my staff and many a indie bestseller was "created" after just such a pick in our store or other stores throughout the country. We can claim that our reps told us first about huge authors like J.K. Rowling, Stephenie Meyer, and Sara Gruen but they also got us excited about P J Harsma, James Owens, Abraham Verghese, Robert Olmstead, Sue Monk Kidd, and Brady Udall just to name a very few of our favorites. The loss of reps to indie stores is the loss of culture, of knowledge, of an exchange of ideas, of an excitement about books and reading that can't be made up in dollars saved. Publishers are tossing out the best of what they can do to connect their authors to readers; if the object of publishing is to get books from writers to readers through bookstores, the rep's role is essential.
Gayle Shanks, Owner
Off the Beaten Path Bookstore in Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Your letter is timely and heart-wrenching. I am not sure how we will do without our reps. They were the only connection between us and the publisher, and their knowledge of our store made their advice and recommendations priceless. We recently missed picking up two huge bestsellers simply because there was not a rep to tell us about the books when we did our buying, and no one called us to give us a heads up on publicity and print run. Hence, the books were unavailable by the time we tried to order them...not available from any warehouse, or from the publisher. Even Amazon was out of them. This never used to happen. Our reps knew what they were selling, what was going to be hot because of publicity, and whether we would be likely to sell 2 or 3 copies or 2 or 3 cases. They knew us and they knew our customers. They could tell us which books to totally skip and which to not miss for any reason.
A phone call from the publishing house from an anonymous voice does not fill the void. There is no attempt at establishing a relationship, and frankly I can do just as well ordering out of a catalogue or on-line. However, I will make many more mistakes than when I had my own rep, and mistakes mean the difference between being here and not.
I thank you for asking for comments. This is very important to me and to our business. Independent bookstores cannot keep being the recipients of every cut-back and everything bad that is happening in the publishing world. No matter how much publishers tell us how important we are to their business, their actions continue to favor the huge customer base, and hurt the smaller independents.
Sue Krall, Owner
The Bookworm of Edwards in Edwards, Colorado
Sales reps are the best advocate I have for my business. In addition to offering expert advice on new books, they actively help me to manage my inventory so that I don't miss an opportunity to increase sales. One example of this comes from Tom Benton, my Penguin hardcover rep. He suggested I stack up "The Power of Kindness" at the register for one month, and promised we'd sell them all. We did, and since then, we've sold 117 copies!
Nicole Magistro, Co-Owner
Macdonald Book Shop in Estes Park, Colorado
I have always worked with my publisher's reps as much as was allowed in their schedules. I have been doing the buying for our store for thirty eight years, and whatever success we have had is largely due to the dedication and time the reps were able to spend helping me with our orders. Once a rep has become acquainted with our small store and its seasonal business, I can rely on their expertise, and their suggestions. Customers say, "for such a small store, you surely have a wonderful selection."
Working over the phone with a rep is always a second choice, and not seeing the blads or finished copies the reps brought for the juvenile titles is a real disadvantage. Publishers often sent advance reader's copies, but when the rep is able to talk about the reader's copies and I have it in my hand, it is often the difference between a small order and a larger order.
The industry is becoming so impersonal, and without the rep actually making personal contact at our shop or at the trade shows, there is little connection to the publisher hundreds of miles away. My reps are my friends when I buy, when I have a concern, when we need help with ordering for an event, in receiving co-op, and in understanding the special offers. In the past it has seemed like a large family, and that is lost now. I have been doing this for a long time, and as I told the last rep that called this week to let me know that the coming appointment would be our last, "... perhaps it is time for me to get out also."
Paula Steige, Owner
Old Firehouse Books in Fort Collins, Colorado
Our sales in new books are still growing and not yet at the stage I can pinpoint one title that we never would have carried without a publisher's reps' recommendation that went on to become a best seller. It is more like all the books we carry are the result of customer demand and reps' recommendations. It can correctly be said that publisher's reps have taught us how to order front list titles. More than any single title, our shelves are full of books we probably would have missed carrying without the knowledge of books and how to sell them we have gotten from the publisher's reps. In 2005 right as we were starting to put significant amounts (for us) of new books on the shelves, Larry Yoder recommend THE ILLUMINATOR by Brenda Rickman Vantrease. Obviously this title never became a bestseller, but in two years we sold nine copies. Not many, it is true, but the kind of solid mid-list title we never would have known to offer, but was well enough received by our customers. We cannot carry as many titles as Barnes and Noble let alone Amazon, so we depend on the knowledge of publisher reps to tell us what interesting books might appeal to our customer base. To do that the reps need to know us as an individual store. We need the partnership to work so that both the publishers and our store can sell the maximum number of books. The calls and visits from the reps to our store increases sales for everyone.
Susie Wilmer, Owner
The Twig Book Shop in San Antonio, Texas
Especially as we struggle to survive, a knowledgeable rep who knows our unique stores maximizes sale-ability of what we order, customizing our orders to suit our customers. There is no way we smaller bookstores can know the books through catalogs, ARCs,and/or blads/F&Gs only. There is not enough time in the day! We are already carrying multiple roles per employee. We need publisher reps to help us work smarter.
Claudia Maceo Sharp, Manager
Maria's Bookshop in Durango, Colorado
It was Gary Cate of Macmillan who first pushed SHANTARAM at us, knowing
that Susan Wasson of Bookworks was hot on it. He got a copy or two of
the book for us to pass around. Since then, we’ve sold thousands of
copies and Shantaram was #6 on our ten top selling books of the last
decade. Without that face to face conversation that happened around
this book, we may never have discovered it.
Joe Foster, Head Buyer
Colorado State University Bookstore in Fort Collins, Colorado
Thanks for sending this. Without sales reps, we’d be flying blind.
Fran Wilson, Administrative Assistant
Why should every bricks and mortar business owner and employee be writing and calling their Governors and state legislators about this issue? Why should all of you be talking to your customers, neighbors, and other bricks and mortar businesses about this issue? Because there are 42 states in this great country of ours that require b&m businesses to collect and pay sales tax, while giving online businesses a free pass. 10 or 15 years ago, when Internet businesses were just getting established, the excuse was that the federal and state governments didn't want to hinder the development of the Internet. WHAT? Did start-up b&m businesses get the same consideration? I don't think so. That position was spurious to begin with and should have been a scandal if more people had been paying attention (not that I was...).
Online businesses from the get-go have had an unfair advantage over bricks and mortar businesses. They have been able to sell their products to consumers for a lower price than b&m owners have because the states basically gave them a free pass on sales tax. And consumers who have taken advantage of the lower prices are also culpable, because they have continued to receive all the state services (roads, schools, fire departments) while avoiding payment of their share of state taxes. The vast majority of MPIBA members are b&m stores but we do have a handful of Internet-only booksellers. Last year one of these members, apparently indifferent to the inequity of the situation, sent me an angry email and quit the Association because he didn't like the position that MPIBA has taken on this issue.
Ok - on to NEXUS. Here is the crux of the issue. Most states' sales tax laws require that online businesses collect sales tax from a customer ONLY IF THE ONLINE BUSINESS HAS "NEXUS", defined as a physical presence in the customer's state. So Amazon, for example, at least theoretically only has to pay sales tax in those states where they have a warehouse or other office. However, in some states' statutes, including Colorado's, the definition of nexus is subject to interpretation, i.e., if the Department of Revenue decides to, it can broaden the definition to include "affiliates", also defined as "representational nexus". When this interpretation of nexus is used, Amazon and many other companies would be required to pay sales tax in virtually all of the 42 states. This was the approach that was successful in New York State last year.
Now I'm pleased to report that Govenor Ritter of Colorado has included projected Internet sales tax revenues in the proposed new budget, and has authorized the Department of Revenue to adopt the broader interpretation of nexus. So while I hope that all of our members in the various states will talk with other b&n business owners and write to their legislators, it is most urgent that Colorado residents act now. Dave Grogan and others at the ABA have prepared a webpage with a template letter for each of the 42 states. Click here to access that information. And keep in touch! Lisa K.
It is with trepidation that one sends out holiday greetings to booksellers, as they are living the retail dream, or nightmare, and may be too exhausted on the actual day of Christmas to do aught but lie abed with cold cloths applied. Nevertheless, dear booksellers, my best wishes have been with you - God Bless! Lisa K.
I am a man who believes in the cultural and spiritual efficacy of art with the same devotion that others offer to a church. I devotedly believe that good dance, music, theater, the visual arts, literature, accumulatively provide for us in the industrialized world something akin to an Aboriginal dreamtime: that is, a blueprint of what it means to be human, and more importantly, a template of how our species might yet evolve. Art is the single endeavor that truly examines our everyday bravery and cowardice, our triumphs and ethical disasters. Art, as it should, prods, questions, dissents and celebrates the human condition.
I believe that that’s the importance of an honest and well-rendered book. I believe that books inspire their readers to reach beyond the merely familiar, or to paraphrase Kafka’s observation: “A novel can be the ax that breaks the frozen sea within.” So, what I’ve wanted to do this morning, hopefully without seeming self-serving or obsequious, is to thank you for staking your lives on books. Certainly, not for me, but for a country that needs to read to become wise, and not merely to be entertained.
I’ve stated that I outgrew the notion that books, that the minds and dreams and prayers of our writers constituted a sort of heaven for me as a boy. I was, after all, a boy very hungry to learn what it meant to be a man, specifically, what it meant to be useful and contributive, but do know that being here in the company of men and women who count on the alchemy of literature makes all the difference for me. You give me hope that I am not wasting my life, and for that I thank you.
All right, there are a few awards I figured I’d never get, and I got both of them this year—one was the Western Writer’s of America Spur Award and the other is the Mountains & Plains Independent Bookseller’s Association (Regional Book Award - Fiction) Novel of the Year.
The MPIBA fall meet back in 2004 was the first event I ever attended, I mean the first, and I learned a lot—namely, how to behave like an author or at least pretend. Viking/Penguin had been kind enough to send a couple of cases of THE COLD DISH, the first in my Sheriff Walt Longmire series, to the event. Basically, I was supposed to hand out ARCs of a book that wasn’t going to be available 'till January and wondered what that was all about … Like I said, I had a lot to learn.
Booksellers were kind, taking a novel from some cowboy who looked more like he should have his hind end on a horse rather than espousing on literature. They asked me questions for which I was sorely unprepared, outrageous questions like, “What’s the book about?”
I’d stand there for a few long seconds thinking about a novel I’d been formulating for the last decade and with that sum of collective knowledge, say, “It’s about a sheriff who …”
Suddenly a hand would rest on my shoulder and the patient voice of Eric Boss, ace sales-rep for Penguin USA would intone, “It’s a character-driven mystery, literary in nature …” And would go on from there. By the time the day was over, booksellers would ask what the novel was about, and I would dutifully and proudly proclaim, “It’s a character-driven mystery, literary in nature …”
I learned a lot at my first MPIBA conference, but the most important thing I learned was that I liked talking to readers and bookstore owners about books, especially my books. It was a revelation, and one I’ve continued to enjoy. Bookstore owners would take the novels, and I’d sign them and ask them where their store was. They’d demure and assure me that I wouldn’t know the location of places like Wheatland, Wyoming. Whereupon I would assure them that not only did I, but that the Brown Derby Café (now closed) is a great place for a burger.
I still remember New York e-mailing and asking me if I was really doing a signing at Wheatland Mercantile Booknook-Gunsmithing-and-Quilting Supply?”
You’re damn right I was, am, and do, every year.
I still remember how happy I was when THE COLD DISH earned a Booksense nomination simply because as readers go, this was the cream of the crop—people who really knew books. Imagine how happy I was when DEATH WITHOUT COMPANY, KINDNESS GOES UNPUNISHED, and ANOTHER MAN'S MOCCASINS did, too. My streak has continued with THE DARK HORSE, even as the honor has changed to IndieNext.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have had numerous successes with my books, but I still remember the geographic area that made it all possible, all those booksellers that said to their customers about an unknown author’s series, “It’s a character-driven mystery, literary in nature …”
No group I owe more to or respect as highly.
Thank you,
Craig Johnson
www.craigallenjohnson.com
The deadline for ordering the 2009 MPIBA Winter Catalog is just over a week away. If you’re not sure whether it can work for your store, consider this: last year, because of the way we featured the 2008 catalog titles in our shop (see photo below), and because we sent the catalog out in nearly 19,000 newspapers in our community, we were able to collect enough co-op to not only offset all of our expenses, but to also bring in an additional $4,500. How’d we do it?
First:
Order the books and get them out on the floor. Heaping piles of ‘em. Display them in your most prominent locations—festive holiday windows, front-of-store shelves or tables, endcaps, etc. For the past few years, we’ve dedicated every endcap to catalog books—each one featuring artwork from the catalog and language out of it—“Memorable Lives,” “History,” “Humor,” etc. Choose the books that you know match your store best—there’s no need to feel like you’re letting the publishers dictate your picks, since there are so many great titles in there.
Next:
Get the catalog in your customers’ hands. We’ve found that investing the $1,300 it cost us to stuff them into our three local newspapers more than pays for itself. Folks carry them into the shop, dog-eared and marked up, ready to holiday shop for everyone on their list. We start stuffing catalogs in bags in mid-November, send them out in newspapers right after Thanksgiving, and have stacks of them all over the store.
Finally:
Write up your co-op requests and send them out to the publishers in November, before the holiday crunch really hits. MPIBA provides a very helpful title list, divided by publisher, so you don’t have to flip through the catalog itself to figure this out. I’ve asked for $50 per title with lots of success, explaining that each title is being promoted through in-store display as well as newspaper inserts. Keep in mind that the publishers have already paid a bunch to get these titles in the catalog, so it’s wise not to ask for too much co-op per title. What you want to demonstrate is that you’re behind these books, you’re recommending them to holiday shoppers by really using the catalog to its fullest advantage.
Make It Easy:
Make the process easy on yourself—it’s a busy time of year, after all. Create one form where all you’re switching out is the titles, ISBNs, and total amount you’re claiming from each publisher. Mine is very basic and I’m happy to share it.* I would guess I spent a total of about 10-15 hours preparing our claims and following up on them for the 2009 catalog—hours that can be pretty tough to squeeze in during the holiday rush; if you do the math, though, unless you’re getting paid a whole lot more than the rest of us, that’s time well spent.
*Click the link below to download Libby's Co-op Request Form
WC08_HarperCollins_Catalog_CoopRequest.doc (31.00 kb)
Positive Results with Publishers:
We’ve had positive results collecting co-op from all the major publishers, including HarperCollins, Penguin, Hachette, Norton, Houghton Mifflin, Random House, and Simon & Schuster. And the end-of the-year timing of the catalog means you can often use up co-op pools you haven’t depleted before they expire.
Oh, and we sold a ton of books, too.
Get into the Winter Catalog Spirit at Your Store:
One more idea to share, to get your staff into the Winter Catalog spirit. Each year, we draw numbers and place our bets on which title from the catalog might sell the best for us between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The winner receives a gift card from the local business of his or her choice. It’s an effective way to get us all really familiar with the books in the catalog, and it’s created a fun holiday tradition.
-Libby Cowles, Maria's Bookshop in Durango, Colorado
I’m lucky in that my job requires that I visit many of the best bookstores in the West, which means, some of the finest bookstores in the country. I am always amazed to see the creative displays and feature areas of the different stores. Having spent many years in retail before flipping to this side of the business, I really appreciate the thought and work that goes into this kind of merchandising, and there is no better way to get good ideas than to steal them from another willing colleague. Booksellers are nothing if not generous with sharing their ideas, as is obvious at every trade show or Winter Institute presentation or roundtable. Sometimes though, it is the simple idea that might not make a discussion that sticks with you. These ideas can be picked up best by visiting other bookstores in your area, or any area you happen to be visiting.
One of the reasons that booksellers have been so interested in the “bookseller exchange” program that MPIBA encourages as an experiment is not just for the exchange of booksellers, but the exchange of ideas that go with it. This was also true of the MPIBA spring Regional Focus Meetings in Austin, Texas and Edwards, Colorado. These meetings were not only a chance to network with fellow booksellers, but to see a store that you might not have previously visited.
Two booksellers in the San Francisco bay area recently made a tour of stores in their area and they were thrilled to be able to come home with some great ideas. Sheryl Cotleur from Book Passage documented her trip with Paul Yamazaki, of City Lights Booksellers in a recent NCIBA newsletter. You can read her article below. I know your time is tighter than ever these days, but I urge you to get out and see other stores in your area and take advantage of this valuable resource to better your own store for the future.
- Jim Carretta, Regional Sales Manager, PartnersWest Book Distributing
(Jim is pictured above in Estes Park, Colorado, with his Leonberger dogs: Hershey on the left and Raleigh on the right)
Touring Bookstores Bay Area Style – April 2009
It started as an idea to become familiar with stores not visited in years, in some cases ever, and ended being a trip of connection, delightful discoveries, reenergized relationships and a deeper appreciation for the diversity of Bay Area bookselling. Paul Yamazaki and I discussed taking a day or two off to visit bookstores outside of San Francisco so one Thursday in April we left San Francisco at 9 am and 32 miles later arrived at Kepler’s in Menlo Park. We visited with Clark Kepler, Frank Sanchez and Marilyn Smith and other staff and admired the results of their recent remodel. The store feels bright and airy. There are lots of tables of intriguing face-up choices and plenty of staff to answer questions and help you find things. Paul and I loved the custom designed cash register area on hidden wheels so it can be moved when need arises or to accommodate large events. Kepler’s has a powerful community feel with plenty of signs encouraging shopping local and joining their membership program. Book selection covers everyone from college kids to business people to families looking for puzzles or books to read together.
Then on to Rakestraw Books in Danville 55 miles later. By happenstance our tour managed to include the just moved and remodeled new location of Rakestraw Books. Michael Barnard has got to have about the prettiest bookstore in the area. His bright yellow, red and blue walls accented by wonderful carpets over a bare but beautiful floor make for a stunning space that includes wonderful tables and lamps. Paul and I felt how much the space just brings out the simple pleasure of shopping and the layout encourages one to wander everywhere. We loved the unusual combination of subjects imagining how much the customers must delight in finding treasures next to known authors. Michael was careful to include in his new store the ability to create a large welcoming space for events. Also because of all the large windows on to the walkable street one imagines folks flocking to this inviting store.
Next 18 miles later we pulled up at A Great Good Place For Books in Oakland. Kathleen Caldwell’s store may have been the smallest we visited but certainly does not lack for a large selection of books. She knows here neighborhood and her authors so it’s a reader’s paradise. Specializing in literary fiction, young adult and children’s books A Great Good Place For Books lives up to it’s name. Kathleen talked about her thriving book club business and her off site sales program. Her store is a great example of a smallish space with long arms into the community. Paul and I loved the well-crafted signs everywhere that said if you loved this book; naming a title, then try these, with descriptions of 4 more choices. Paul commented on the quality of these recommendations and later even pulled a few books off the shelf unknown to him.
On our way again we, after 10 miles, ended up at Mrs. Dalloway’s also in Oakland. This time it was late enough that we missed the owners Marion Abbot and Ann Leyhe but were greeted and welcomed by Frayda Simon and Michael Ichioka. First one had to spend time on the sidewalk admiring the window displays. It amused Paul no end that the full size mannequin of Mrs. Dalloway in the window was reading a copy of Poetry As Insurgent Art. I took pictures to send to Lawrence (Ferlinghetti, poet, publisher and co-founder of City Lights) at Paul’s request. This store has the feel of being outdoors while inside, perhaps because of the large gardening section, high ceilings and light green and white colors. We were completely taken with the large bowl of beautifully reproduced free poems given out for poetry month and the truly wonderful poetry section. We were told Mary Fox was responsible, bravo! I loved the shelf talkers here and as Frayda pointed out the large ampersand symbol on the front desk perfectly expresses the symbiosis between the gardening section and literature. Mrs. Dalloway’s is looking forward to some remodeling soon that will expand their space. This day ended with a brief stop into Diesel to read some of their vast number of cheeky and delicious shelf talkers and then on to some food and drink to talk over the day.
The very next Thursday we continued by going north. I picked Paul up at 9 am at the Larkspur Ferry and traveled the very short distance to my stomping grounds Book Passage. Paul got a good look at how we’ve evolved over the years into two buildings and extra classroom spaces to accommodate our expanding list of community events and conferences. Mostly though Paul, as buyers do, focused on looking at books. It was fun to have him over to our place.
Then on the road again and up to lovely Sonoma where 26 miles later we landed at Reader’s Books. Owners Lilla and Andy Weinberger greeted us as soon as we stepped inside. This is a charming store completely woven into the fabric of the community selling, lately, premium fresh organic eggs along with a few chicken books and a heady mix of fiction. Reader’s also has great current non-fiction, children’s books and an especially rich cookbook selection. In fact you can get a bottle of locally produced olive oil there also. Don’t get me wrong; the store is all about books with just a few food items to make things interesting. Lilla, Andy and their staff move around their favorite and featured titles often to keep the surprises coming for their loyal customers and they have a wonderful patio out back to accommodate good weather events & readings – good weather being in abundance in Sonoma.
After lunch it’s back in the car for a 45 minute drive over 29 miles of gorgeous countryside to Sebastopol where we visited Copperfield’s. This store houses the offices of the 6 store independent chain where we got to visit with Ty Wilson, the buyer and Robin Laine, the store manager. Also events coordinator Stephanie Deignan jumped in with tales of lively things they are doing like hosting an on going chess tournament in the front window all summer and having a local dance troupe perform in the back parking lot. Robin told us how their community was the Berkeley of Sonoma County and therefore their stock and events reflected that. Ty, Paul and I chatted a bit and looked around at the books enjoying Copperfield’s particular unique mix of selections. This store has a local authors section as well as tables full of current paperback fiction and non-fiction artfully arranged and also wonderful signage! Robin tells us that there’s a large community of artists all around who make their presence felt both in book selection and in what they produce, show and sell.
Then we moved onto Pt. Reyes Bookstore some 33 miles and stunning vistas later. The road meandered through vast ranch lands to the edge of Tomales Bay and down a part of that coast. Pt. Reyes has not lost one whit of its local charm and vibrant ranching community feel while also serving its expanding creative population of writers, artists, poets, and thinkers. In fact the sustainability movement, both practical and philosophical, is most strongly felt here and the bookstore reflects that. Paul was impressed with the quality of books packed into this 1000 square ft. store saying they actually bore some resemblance to the kind of books living on the shelves at City Lights. Owners Steve Costa and Kate Levinson could not be on hand to greet us but Steve and I spoke the day before. I was fascinated to hear details of their two Geography of Hope conferences, the first on Wallace Stegner whose writings provided the title & the philosophy behind it all and the second on writing on farming and the rural life. These conferences in back to back years took place over 3 days, drew 600 participants, over 35 renown authors and created excitement far and wide. Steve and Kate hope to continue this weekend conference every other year now on related topics.
Though it was hard to choose which wonderful place to have dinner we drove another 14 miles into Bolinas, because, well it’s Bolinas. After a leisurely drink at Smiley’s with the house dog for company we went across the street for dinner and much conversation – reviewing the entire experience. We wished we could continue on other days and visit every single independent bookstore, large and small within 100 miles of San Francisco. Finally when time to go we drove the coast highway back, which even at night is lovely, and after another 32 miles arrived at Paul’s doorstep. I then turned for home. It was 10pm and the end of a truly remarkable and fun 2 days. We were encouraged by the breadth and depth of Bay Area bookselling and enlivened by visiting our brethren booksellers. We saw evidence in every store of creative efforts to continue to bring cherished, hand selected good quality books to each community – something that is becoming increasingly difficult in this economy and culture and yet still is a labor of love. Everyone we visited wished they were on the trip with us and to that we say grab some friends and do your own trip! You will love it and the people you visit will love having you come by. We are a most welcoming community!
-Sheryl Cotleur, Buyer, Book Passage and Paul Yamazaki, Buyer, City Lights