Book Curating

Robin Agnew

The New York Times has had a series of disturbing (to a bookseller, any way) articles about the future of Barnes & Noble, the bookselling giant that finds itself in trouble due to the advent and bursting popularity of e-books.  At the end of the most recent article (Business section, 8/12) they quoted an independent bookseller who said (and here I’m paraphrasing) that the strength of the Independents is in curating their books - ordering the right ones, and getting them in the right hands.

Several of the articles have posited that Independents are actually in a better position at the moment than the big chains, simply because we are smaller and more nimble.  I have to say that while I am finding that the advent of e-books and even the greater reliance of cash strapped customers on libraries are a big factor, what I am also finding is that the curating aspect is also true, especially as “backlist” is not so well covered at the chains.  Mystery readers demand the backlist.

Curating is now leaking through to events.  We are getting quirky stuff - and it’s good stuff - that needs careful marketing and clever outreach to interested parties.  Just to name two examples in the coming months: Gerald Elias, who writes about a concert violinst and teacher, is himself a concert violinst and teacher, and he’s bringing his violin along.  Dan Johnson, author of The Detroit Electric Scheme, is having a friend bring a 1916 electric car to his event.  This is more difficult than marketing, say, an event with John Sandford.  But at this point it happens to be our expertise.

And the other part of that is recommending the right books to the right people.  With some customers, I’ve known them for so long, I’m almost more familiar with their personal libraries than they are.  I know what they’ll want to read.   I’m always trying to figure out what any customer might be interested in, and it’s often dependent on my own (and my husband’s) personal reading quirks. It’s the reason that for us, Stefanie Pintoff’s In the Shadow of Gotham has become a runaway bestseller, and John Sandford  - not so much (except used paperbacks).  Sandford can be had at Walmart or Target.  Not Pintoff.  My job is bringing the quirky to you.

Comments

[M Clement Hall]

Sounds like personalised service might be making a comeback -- a bookshop that actually cares what I read. I'm not knocking the chain, I use it, and I'm not knocking mail-order, I use that too, but I did enjoy the day when one could go into a bookshop and talk books with the owner. Of course, I also enjoyed the Charing Cross Road, but that was a long time ago, and second hand book stalls seem like dodos.

[Robin Agnew]

Used books definitely keep our doors open - in fact, I think used book shops are in a better spot at the moment than new ones.