The publishing and bookselling industries bore witness to the death of a giant last week when Borders ran out of options to stay in business. But as the second largest bookstore chain in the nation closes its doors for good, a new generation of the stores it once replaced say the future looks bright.
Richard Hunt, co-founder of
Roebling Point Bookstore in Covington, says the year-old store is gaining a steady following of patrons who appreciate its focus on travel and outdoor recreation titles, as well as its large selection of books on local topics and by local authors.
"We wanted to be a resource for people here," he says. "Our grand aspiration is to be the best resource for these categories."
Hunt says the bookstore is expanding to add a community meeting room, more shelf space and possibly a coffee shop. That may not be much different from the features of the large chain bookstores, but he notes that Roebling Point's knowledge of local authors, and its ability to find the niche books desired by its patrons, give it a leg up in the market.
"That's one of the things the bigger bookstores don't focus on so well," he says.
Serving profitable niches is a specialty of another successful independent bookstore in Cincinnati:
Blue Manatee Children's Bookstore in Oakley. Events Coordinator Kelli Gleiner says the small store's deep knowledge of its customers is a huge tool in keeping the business vibrant.
"We're such a small store with a small staff, that most of our customers know the staff well," she says.
For Blue Manatee, that means providing programming that customers won't find in big-box bookstores. The store offers the story times one might expect, but also hosts weekly yoga classes and brings in authors for book signings with the frequency one might only expect for a store catering to adult readers. Again, it's simply a response to customer demand, Gleiner says.
"We have to know what they want, otherwise we wouldn't be here," she says.
Ben Vore, general manager at
Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Norwood, says the parallel themes of greater customer awareness and adaptability to customer desires are more than just good marketing plans for independent bookstores.
"I think that, to me, is the only way we're going to continue to survive, and to thrive," he says. "With Borders going down, I feel that, with fewer bookstores out there, we're going to really need to be very rooted in the community and in tune to what's going on around town."
Story and photos by Matt Cunningham
Follow Matt on Twitter @cunningcontent
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