The Learned Owl Begins Next Chapter

Kate Schlademan and Liz Murphy, after signing paperwork that made the sale official.

Last Friday, Hudson, Ohio’s The Learned Owl Book Shop [1] changed hands. After 30 years at the helm, Liz Murphy sold the business to store staff member Kate Schlademan, who assured the community that Learned Owl will continue to be the same great place.

From the moment she decided to put the store up for sale, Murphy knew Schlademan would be a good fit, she told BTW, adding that she had been unofficially preparing Schlademan for the role for nearly two years.

“I don’t think I could have found a better person,” said Murphy, who will remain involved in the store until the transition is complete. She will be meeting with Schlademan a couple times per week and will be assisting her with the buying. “I will be involved as she wants me to be, to make sure the transition is smooth and the Learned Owl goes forward,” Murphy said.

“Honestly, I’ve always wanted to own a bookstore,” said Schlademan, whose first job out of college was at Borders, where she worked as a bookseller for seven years. “I figured that would give me the skills to run my own store at some point,” she said. She has served as the events coordinator and unofficial full-time manager at the Learned Owl for nearly two years.

The only thing holding Schlademan back was procuring enough funds to purchase the store. She turned to the crowd-funding platform IndieGoGo [2] and raised close to $20,000 worth of donations [3]in about 40 days. The largest monetary donations came from authors that she has worked with at the store, though the majority of the donors were members of the community. Additionally, Schlademan received another $3,000 in donations from people who did not want to give through the formal campaign.

Schlademan spread the word about her campaign through a blog as well as a designated Facebook page for Owl’s next chapter. Additionally, she sent out press releases to many local papers that willingly covered her fundraising efforts.

“I am going to love the store to the best of my abilities,” said Schlademan. “I know I still have things to learn, and Liz has been a great teacher.

“I just want to get through the transition, and let the community know that the Learned Owl is going to exist as it always has and be the place they’ve come to love,” she added.

Schlademan said she wants to continue to focus on events, especially with local authors, for whom the store has always provided an outlet. In terms of inventory, she said that the store has come to know its clientele well, and she will continue to meet their needs.

“I don’t see any real reason to make any big changes,” she said. “It’s perfect the way it’s always been.”