New Orleans Indies Launch 'Positive' Campaign in the Face of Borders Opening

More than a year ago, when Borders announced plans to renovate an historic funeral home for a location in The Big Easy, Tom Lowenburg of Octavia Books and Garden District Book Shop's Britton Trice rallied fellow indie booksellers -- all members of the New Orleans Gulf-South Booksellers Association (NOGSBA) -- to develop a strategic response.

Trice, who is president of NOGSBA, felt that in the face of the first big box bookstore incursion into New Orleans, it was important to gather the forces of all the local independent bookstores in making a united stand. "The goal of our combined efforts is to help raise the city's awareness of how much we contribute to, and for how long we have been supporting, the community," Trice told BTW. "After seeing how many years of experience there was [among the 12 participating stores], I thought that this would make a strong point in showing the community how long the local independent booksellers have been serving and supporting New Orleans (over 300+ combined years)."

NOGSBA is now emphasizing the indie booksellers' length and breadth of service to the community and the greater economic impact of local businesses in a new education campaign, and on December 6, the day of Borders' grand opening, will host a city-wide "Celebration of Independent Bookselling."

Octavia's Lowenburg stressed that the thrust of the NOGBSA event and education is pro-independent booksellers. "We wanted to do a campaign that defined who we are and identify ourselves in our own terms," he explained. "It seemed like the right response was to put the focus on what we do for the community."

What Octavia and other indie booksellers also do, said Lowenburg, is provide inventory precisely curated for New Orleans' residents and visitors. "Our books are carefully handpicked," he said. "We listen to what our customers have to say, and are very selective about building a book collection."

The bookstores -- which also include Afro-American Book Stop, Beckham's, Blue Cypress Books,Community Book Center, deVille Books, Faulkner House Books, Librairie Book Shop, Maple Street Book Shop, Maple Street Children's Book Shop, and McKeown's Books and Difficult Music -- will be joined for the "Celebration of Independent Bookselling" by Stay Local!, a city-wide initiative for creating a strong economy via locally owned businesses. The groups are issuing a joint press release and running a full-page ad in New Orlean's Gambit Weekly, highlighting that independent businesses create three times the economic impact compared to chain stores. A portion of the day's sales will be donated to local literacy groups.

Each bookstore is hosting its own celebration, and among the events will be author readings and signings, live music, wine tastings, as well as informal discussions about localism. Octavia is hosting a jazz band and several authors, including children's book author Whitney Stewart and illustrator Jean Cassels. Customers will be offered snacks made by Elsa Hahne from her new book, You Are Where You Eat: Stories and Recipes from the Neighborhoods of New Orleans (University Press of Mississippi).

Lowenburg thinks that the indie message will resonate with local residents. "New Orleans recognizes the importance of independent, locally based businesses, and that doesn't just extend to bookstores," he explained. "All the major chains are not so big here. We have some of the best local cuisines, and we're one of the few places in America that has an indigenous cuisine. We also have our own vibrant music. People understand how local business works here, and even more so after Hurricane Katrina. The independents were the ones who were open quickly." --Karen Schechner