Around Indies

Kepler’s Reimagined

At the end of July, some 80 volunteers gathered in California for a three-day conference aimed at reimagining the bookstore of the future. The event was organized by Kepler’s 2020 Project and facilitated by Future Search Network.

The task-focused meetings were part of an initiative, led by Praveen Madan, co-owner of The Booksmith in San Francisco, to transform Kepler’s into a community literary and cultural center encompassing both a for-profit, community-owned-and-operated bookstore and a nonprofit organization to host on-stage author interviews, lectures, educational workshops and other literary and cultural events.

On the last day, conference participants synthesized their ideas to create a list of eight “must-haves” for the indie bookstore of the future:

1. Be financially sustainable.
2. Have a clearly defined mission.
3. Be dedicated to community outreach.
4. Serve as a gathering place for creative events and social events.
5. Support life-long learning and literary education.
6. Sell books in any form, on any platform.
7. Maintain a virtual presence, with technology fully integrated into the store.
8. Provide a carefully curated selection of books.

The Future Search conference was profiled in a three-part series in the Washington Post.

Bestsellers Café Reopens

Five years after it was forced to close due to structural damage to the building that was its home, Bestsellers Café has reopened in Medford, Massachusetts, according to Boston.com. The three-story building, which sits on Mystic riverbank mud, was slowly sinking when Bestsellers Café closed for what was supposed to be a few months of building repairs.

Bestsellers owner Rob Dilman, who in the interim took another job, now “has the curious task of relearning his own business with a new staff working in an unfamiliar layout,” said Boston.com. Plans include expanding his store’s online presence, as well as scheduled author events. A grand opening celebration is planned for this weekend.

Northshire Considers Second Location

Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, Vermont, is “seriously considering opening a second bookstore,” reported the Manchester Journal.The second location would be in Saratoga Springs, New York, which co-owner Chris Morrow noted has several attractions that bring people to the town, including Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Skidmore College, and City Center convention center. There’s also a void in the city’s downtown left by Borders’ closing last year.

“The Northshire Bookstore in Manchester will remain a primary focus,” Morrow told the Journal. “Our offerings and service will not diminish. In fact, part of the motivation of a second store is that it will allow us to offer more to our customers in the future; it will strengthen our position.”

Flintridge Adds Espresso Book Machine

Readers and authors in La Canada, California, will now be able to print on demand and self-publish, due to the recent arrival of an Espresso Book Machine in Flintridge Bookstore & Coffeehouse.

“One of the services we wanted to promote to our customers was we can get books faster than anyone else,” owner Peter Wannier told Pasadena Star-News. Customers can choose from the three million titles available in the store’s virtual inventory, and have the book printed in an hour or less.

Wannier also said that ability to self-publish empowers people. “You’d be amazed at the number of people who have a book in their system waiting to get out,” he told the Star-News. “And it’s all ages, all kinds of people. The book machine always generates a lot of interest and people love to see a book popping down the shoot.”

Harvard Coop and Children’s Book Shop Named Best

Boston magazine has named The Harvard Coop in Cambridge Massachusetts, its pick for best bookstore in 2012. The store was recognized for its extensive inventory. “The four-story Harvard Square behemoth peddles both bestsellers and literary classics, as well as arcane treatises on history, philosophy, music, and science — precisely what you’d expect from a store founded by Crimson scholars in 1882,” said the magazine.

Boston also honored the The Children’s Book Shop in Brookline with the title of best children’s bookstore. “Books are alive and well at this charming Brookline shop, where owner Terri Schmitz helps kids of all ages find the perfect rainy-day escape, sans batteries,” the magazine reported.

Builders Booksource Reconfigures

Pointing to changes in the book world and to the design and construction industry, Berkeley, California’s Builders Booksource is restructuring. The bookstore will remain in its current location and will maintain its full inventory of design and building trade titles, but in a smaller space.

With most of its free standing units and tables are on wheels, Builders Booksource said it will still be able to host book events and workshops and, regardless of the changes, its “amazing staff is, as always, committed to excellent customer service.”

Work is scheduled to begin the third week of August.