Why do readers love independent bookstores?
Independent bookstores are the lifeblood of Australian writing and publishing culture. In celebration of 2021’s Love Your Bookshop Day the Teen Reading team published an article in The Conversation about the reasons Australian readers love independent bookstores. The five reasons we identify emphasise the role of independent bookstores as trusted advisors and vital members of local communities of readers and booklovers:
- Curated book choices
- A commitment to the local
- An introduction to local authors and stories
- ‘Slow leisure’
- Outlets for our emotions
Professor Ryan L. Raffaelli at Harvard Business School makes similar observations about bricks-and-mortar independent bookstores in the United States. He identifies ‘3C’s’ as the key to recent growth in the sector: community, curation, and convening. Raffaelli’s key message is that the competitive advantage available to independent bookstores is their ability to provide a unique experience based on the development of personal relationships with customers and strong ties with local communities. The bespoke reading experience offers by independent bookstores includes personalised book recommendations and a busy program of events such as book signings, lectures, reading groups and children’s story times.
In Australia, independent bookstores play a vital role in the promotion of reading. One recent example is the #Shop #Read Local campaign run by the Australian Society of Authors and the Australian Booksellers Association to coincide with Book Week in August 2021.
SAVE THE DATE!! Next year’s Love Your Bookshop Day is on 8 October 2022.
The ability of booksellers to connect with customers and match the right book to the right reader is the key to their ongoing sustainability in both Australia and the United States. As one bookseller put it, ‘It’s all about finding the right book and putting it in the right person’s hands, isn’t it? Them loving it and engaging with it and then wanting to come back and find another one’.