'I Need to Be Out There Connecting with the Community'
"It's a lot harder than I dreamed it would be. You think: 'Oh, because I love books, it should be easy.' But it's not easy because you love books, because it's also a business. I do have a degree in accounting, I have a degree in education, I have a master's degree in library science. I have a lot of things that are necessary to run the store. I also love talking to people, and what I realized is, I don't really want to be here running the store. I want to be out there talking to the people, connecting with people and figuring out what they need and then bringing those resources to them. The store is necessary, but I can get someone else to run it, it doesn't have to be me. I will still pick most of the books, but I need to be out there connecting with the community because that's what I love doing."
--Kathy Burnette, owner of the Brain Lair Bookstore, South Bend, Ind., on the biggest lesson she has learned since opening her shop last year (via the Tribune)
from the May 10, 2019 issue
