Students in Vermont and Wisconsin Get Booked in School

High school students in Vermont and Wisconsin are taking the idea of working after school in the local bookstore to a new level. These students are doing more than just stocking bookshelves part-time -- they are helping to open and to manage new bookstores. It's all a part of two separate high school initiatives to teach literacy-loving students the ins and outs of small business administration and the rewards of bookselling.

Linda Ramsdell, owner of independent bookstore Galaxy Bookshop in Hardwick, Vermont, is having high school students from Craftsbury Academy, a public high school, help her open a bookstore in Craftsbury, Vermont. The idea "came from one of my best friends," she told BTW in a recent interview. "She started a teen-powered café. I was inspired by what she was doing, and I really enjoy working with kids."

Last year, when Ramsdell heard that the Craftsbury Public Library building was up for sale (the library is moving to a new location this winter), she decided to put her plan into action, and she bid on the building. "It was my idea from the start to have high school kids run it," she said. "It's a personal thing. Craftsbury is my hometown, and it's the library building where my love for books was cultivated. I was at BEA [this past May] when I learned I won the bid."

Galaxy Bookshop in Hardwick, Vermont

With the location for the bookstore set, Ramsdell enlisted the help of Sarah Miller, a 14-year-old former Galaxy Bookshop employee, to recruit high school students. "I asked her to talk to her friends [at Craftsbury Academy high school] and build a consensus -- get them interested in the idea," Ramsdell explained. Miller's work was impressive. She enlisted eight "very enthusiastic" students -- not bad considering that Craftsbury Academy boasts an average class size of about 16 students.

Last week, Ramsdell, Miller, and the students held their first meeting. "One thing is, we talked about the books they were reading," she said. "All of them were reading and talking articulately about very good books -- The Lovely Bones was one example. I told them, 'If you can read and talk about books, you can be a good bookseller.'"

At present, Ramsdell said the plan is for the Craftsbury bookstore to be a satellite store of her Galaxy Bookshop. The 400-square-foot store will be a general bookstore with an emphasis on young adult and local interest titles. The students' responsibilities will include handselling and shelving books, offering input on store inventory, helping to design the store's layout, balancing the cash register, and beginning bookkeeping. At all times, an adult will supervise them. Toward that end, Ramsdell hired Diane Morgan as the new store's project coordinator.

The bookstore will open in either late January or February 2003, Ramsdell said. "It's dependent upon the construction of the new library," she explained, and added that, from February to June, the bookstore will be open for three days a week after school for three hours an afternoon. "The idea is to start with something very manageable and scaleable and go from there."

In Eau Claire, Wisconsin, it was Pam Gardow's idea to start a Memorial High School Bookstore (MHSB) with the help of students. As the high school librarian, "literacy is a big issue with me," she told BTW. "So I organized the Teen Literacy Initiative [TLI] in September, and we recruited kids to apply." The students were asked to write an essay regarding literacy and why they should be accepted to TLI. Those accepted to TLI were awarded a trip to the Upper Midwest Booksellers Association (UMBA) regional in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Counterclockwise: Librarian Pam Gardow, Jessie Shoemaker, Jamie Utphall, Issachar Lane, Sierra Pope, reading specialist Annis Williams, and Brian Hon.

"The students selected to participate [in TLI], and who are currently working to get our new bookstore off the ground, were selected because of their passion for books and reading, their creative talents, and their desire to promote reading throughout our school and community," said Gardow. "The kids considered [the UMBA trip] a life-altering experience and were raving about the experience for weeks after we returned."

With the students' newfound knowledge in bookselling -- garnered from a number of UMBA seminars – TLI set about opening their bookstore.

"Although our first orders will be catalog and special request orders, we also have plans to convert a space [in the library] for book displays and sales and are in the process of organizing that," said Gardow, who noted that Annis Williams, a reading specialist, is helping her with the project. "We will be, to say the least, somewhat unorthodox, but the students are developing a vision of how a high school bookstore can best meet the needs of students in our school and in our entire district. They will also be developing programs and opportunities to serve staff and teachers, and the community at large."

The group with author Mike Perry (fourth from left).

Recently, MHSB, an UMBA member, mailed UMBA's winter catalog to teachers and staff in the school district. "People will mail or bring in orders to the library," she explained, and added that MHSB will fulfill orders through Baker & Taylor and Ingram. "UMBA is mailing the catalog for us. It's a service that they provide their members. UMBA has been extremely helpful to us; they've been a tremendous asset in helping us get started." All profits from the bookstore will be channeled back into TLI literacy projects, such as author visits, book drives, and donations.

Already, the students have gained tremendous experience from the project, said Gardow. They are learning business practices, marketing skills, retail management, and how to develop goals and objectives. Additionally, "they will be doing book reviews, developing a Web page for the bookstore, and speaking to community groups," she said. "These authentic work experiences will greatly enrich their education."

Attending an UMBA seminar.

In the near future, the students hope to offer popular paperbacks, and are planning to have a big promotion to entice students and families to buy their summer reading from MHSB. Since the store closes for the summer, the big push would be in late April, or early May, Gardow explained. In terms of stock, the students will be responsible for compiling a list of books to sell and ordering samples from both distributors.

"I have to keep reminding myself that this is 'spare time,' unpaid activity, for the students as well as for myself and Annis," Gardow said. "It is so exciting that it could consume an enormous amount of time -- but then, who needs a real life?" --David Grogan