Save Your Local Bookstore!

This week in our digital marketing assignment, we faced off on the destiny (or fate) of the traditional, brick and mortar bookstore. And, as I did my research on the issue and tried to take my side, I was saddened by which side I took. Unless we put our faith (and money) back into our local bookstores, it won't be long before they are few and far between.

Marc Fisher of The Washington Post wrote a great article about what's happening with bookstores. And, his conclusion is one I agree with: we, the readers, are killing the brick and mortar stores. Read it -- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/20/AR2009042003286.html -- it's true.

Don't get me wrong, I'm guilty. I buy books from Amazon. As a matter of fact, I've gone to my local bookstore, found a book I liked and ordered it online. Oh the shame!

But, at the same time, there is a part of me that still very much enjoys my walk through the stacks of the store. I like the smell of new books. I like the colors. I can spend hours perusing the various releases, reading the inside covers to see if I can be enticed into making a purchase. And, after researching/learning about where we're headed with our traditional stores, I may not get to enjoy those feelings much longer.

Now, after noting in my paper that on-line stores were the future, I still want to believe in my local bookstore. I want to believe that there is hope for the "shops around the blocks." As many offerings as the on-line stores can provide, they still can't provide you with the personal touches that truly do make traditional stores so endearing to customers. You can't go to the book signing of your favorite author via a virtual bookstore. You really can't enjoy a reading from a new author or book (well, I'm sure there are some "video readings" out there). You can't enjoy a warm coffee or hot chocolate while reading your latest purchase if you're living in an online world.

And, most importantly, as noted by Fisher, you can't support your local community online. If we want local businesses to thrive and be a part of our community, we have to support them. Your local bookstores bring jobs, taxes and greater sense of community to the towns in which we live. Those of us who go online to save a buck are simply hurting those people we interact with daily.

Yes, Virginia, I have to believe that because of all of those wonderful qualities, our traditional bookstores will remain an integral and wonderful part of our lives.