In an unusual partnership, Follett is opening a bookstore across from
the University of Texas in space it is leasing from the University
Co-op, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
The Guadalupe Street area, known as the Drag, has been a difficult
place for retailers, and previous bookstores, including Europa Books
and Barnes & Noble, have folded.
Follett has agreed not to sell "academic textbooks, UT clothing, memorabilia or other novelties available at the Co-op," and the University "will soon sign a three-year, $225,000 agreement with Follett," under which the company will hold book signings for faculty authors and other university-related events.
The university has been actively looking for a store to open on the Drag that would stock trade books (Shelf Awareness, July 28).
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Since its founding in 2004 by the Association of Booksellers for Children, the E.B. White Read Aloud Award has gone to one book that "reflects the universal read aloud standards that were established by the work of E.B White." The association had planned to alternate awards from year to year between pictures books and book for older readers but found it difficult to choose a single title. As a result, beginning this year, the award will be presented in two categories: picture book and older readers.
New ABC executive director Kristen McLean said in a statement that the change "reflects ABC's belief that reading aloud doesn't have to stop when young readers make the leap to chapter books." This year's award winners will be announced Monday, April 3.
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Like many other business owners in Vail, Colo., Robert Aikens of Verbatim Booksellers has been adversely affected by a slew of construction projects, according to the Vail Daily. That and Internet book-buying have led to "abysmal" sales at Verbatim. As a result, Aikens will close the store "unless he can find enough money by next month to run the store for the next two years," the paper said.
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The Ventura County Star has an update on Barbara O'Grady, new owner of Adventures for Kids, Ventura, Calif., who is making a few changes at the long-established children's bookstore (Shelf Awareness, January 30). The former manager of the Patagonia café, she is planning to stay open later, institute a games night and adopt a few principles from Patagonia's approach. Adventures for Kids founder Jody Fickes Shapiro continues to assist in the transition.
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Barnes & Noble plans to open a new store in Seattle, Wash., in April 2007. When the store opens, in the Northgate Mall at I-5 and Northeast Northgate Way, the company will close a B. Dalton Bookseller that operates in the mall. The new store will stock the usual nearly 200,000 book, music, movie and magazine titles and have a café.
In other B&N news, the company is returning to the Bayshore mall in Glendale, near Milwaukee, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. B&N had had a store in a part of the mall that is being rebuilt and expanded. The mall is being renamed Bayshore Town Center.
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Oasis Christian Bookstore in Williamstown, Ky., reopened late last year in a new location with an unusual sideline: it has a restaurant and soda fountain, the Grant County News reported. Installed in the 1960s, the soda fountain has the original seats and counters.
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Raman Agraweal and Tyler French of Gibson's Bookstore in East Lansing, home of Michigan State University, have created a "community hangout" in the store that includes wi-fi, coffee and music. "It's a humble corner, with a couple of tables partitioned off by bookshelves, but it's got a lot of heart," the Lansing City Pulse reported. "Amid Pink Pearl erasers, dusty texts and jokey greeting cards, the space has the ambiance of a quaint emporium, but it's granola-dusted with a progressive vibe." Local groups using the space include Direct Action and Grass Roots Recycling.
Follett has agreed not to sell "academic textbooks, UT clothing, memorabilia or other novelties available at the Co-op," and the University "will soon sign a three-year, $225,000 agreement with Follett," under which the company will hold book signings for faculty authors and other university-related events.
The university has been actively looking for a store to open on the Drag that would stock trade books (Shelf Awareness, July 28).
---
Since its founding in 2004 by the Association of Booksellers for Children, the E.B. White Read Aloud Award has gone to one book that "reflects the universal read aloud standards that were established by the work of E.B White." The association had planned to alternate awards from year to year between pictures books and book for older readers but found it difficult to choose a single title. As a result, beginning this year, the award will be presented in two categories: picture book and older readers.
New ABC executive director Kristen McLean said in a statement that the change "reflects ABC's belief that reading aloud doesn't have to stop when young readers make the leap to chapter books." This year's award winners will be announced Monday, April 3.
---
Like many other business owners in Vail, Colo., Robert Aikens of Verbatim Booksellers has been adversely affected by a slew of construction projects, according to the Vail Daily. That and Internet book-buying have led to "abysmal" sales at Verbatim. As a result, Aikens will close the store "unless he can find enough money by next month to run the store for the next two years," the paper said.
---
The Ventura County Star has an update on Barbara O'Grady, new owner of Adventures for Kids, Ventura, Calif., who is making a few changes at the long-established children's bookstore (Shelf Awareness, January 30). The former manager of the Patagonia café, she is planning to stay open later, institute a games night and adopt a few principles from Patagonia's approach. Adventures for Kids founder Jody Fickes Shapiro continues to assist in the transition.
---
Barnes & Noble plans to open a new store in Seattle, Wash., in April 2007. When the store opens, in the Northgate Mall at I-5 and Northeast Northgate Way, the company will close a B. Dalton Bookseller that operates in the mall. The new store will stock the usual nearly 200,000 book, music, movie and magazine titles and have a café.
In other B&N news, the company is returning to the Bayshore mall in Glendale, near Milwaukee, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. B&N had had a store in a part of the mall that is being rebuilt and expanded. The mall is being renamed Bayshore Town Center.
---
Oasis Christian Bookstore in Williamstown, Ky., reopened late last year in a new location with an unusual sideline: it has a restaurant and soda fountain, the Grant County News reported. Installed in the 1960s, the soda fountain has the original seats and counters.
---
Raman Agraweal and Tyler French of Gibson's Bookstore in East Lansing, home of Michigan State University, have created a "community hangout" in the store that includes wi-fi, coffee and music. "It's a humble corner, with a couple of tables partitioned off by bookshelves, but it's got a lot of heart," the Lansing City Pulse reported. "Amid Pink Pearl erasers, dusty texts and jokey greeting cards, the space has the ambiance of a quaint emporium, but it's granola-dusted with a progressive vibe." Local groups using the space include Direct Action and Grass Roots Recycling.