Praveen Madan, CEO of Kepler's Books & Magazines, Menlo Park, Calif., the main organizer of the conference, had opened the second day's program by thanking participants for their 'energizing conversations' on Monday and reviewed the purpose of the gathering: how to 'reimagine bookstores to deepen literacy, strengthen our communities, and pay a decent living wages to our employees.' This event shows that there's a deep, broad range of imagination and ideas and passion and connections that may be propelling that.' I'm grateful for that, and one of the things I'm leaving with is a sense of hope for that possibility.'įor his part, Steve Piersanti of Barrett-Koehler Publishers, said that 'at the risk of being overly optimistic, it's possible that this event is one of a number of indications of maybe the beginning or that we're into a new golden age of independent bookstores in terms of coming up with many new models, many new ways of connecting, offering new ways of reaching out to people. We are all so busy all the time and to hold everyone together for six hours to imagine and envision and dream together, knowing how practical so many of us are, I think we'll actually be able to change just a little bit the trajectory of the industry. Jeff Deutsch, director of the Seminary Co-op Bookstore and 57th Street Books, Chicago, Ill., spoke for many when he remarked 'how incredible it is to be in this community with everyone. The two-day Reimagining Bookstores virtual event ended on a high note yesterday, with many participants praising the event and the exchange of ideas and hoping for followups that could include similar gatherings twice a year. 'This is our chance to feature smaller businesses in a smaller business.' 'We just need to know what people want.'Įlliot is also looking to add some gently used books and vinyl records, and she wants to add toys that can't easily be found at major retailers. 'We're really willing to work with people,' Elliott said.

At the same time she will continue to curate the store's inventory based on customer feedback. There will be more books about Jefferson City and by local authors, as well as manga, Spanish-language books and urban fiction, all of which proved popular at Downtown Books II. Going forward, Elliott plans to expand the store's hours as well as its book selection. 'This is an institution, and I wanted to keep it here.' 'I could not let local bookselling go away from Jefferson City,' Elliott told News Tribune.

She then reached out to the Cowleys, the owners of Downtown Book & Toy, knowing that they were planning to retire. Prior to purchasing Downtown Book & Toy, Elliott was the manager of Downtown Books II at Capital Mall in Jefferson City, which closed in August. Bookseller Beth Elliott has purchased Downtown Book & Toy in Jefferson City, Mo., from the store's retiring owners, the News Tribune reported.

This Fierce Blood by Malia Márquez