The week before last John Mutter of Shelf Awareness spent two days with New England Independent Booksellers Association executive director Steve Fischer visiting bookstores in Connecticut and New York. It was a great little working vacation! Here's the third part of a multi-part series reporting on what we saw.
The Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza, which includes the Little Book House, Albany, N.Y., opened in 1975 and is in one of the largest open shopping malls we've ever seen. Built in 1959, Stuyvesant Plaza has been upgraded and has many high-end retailers such as Jos. Bank, Talbots, Chico's as well as an array of independent stores. At any time of day, it seems, the huge lot is mostly full. Stuyvesant Plaza draws from a wide area as well as the nearby University at Albany, formerly SUNY Albany.
Susan Novotny bought into the Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza in 1986 and became the full owner in 1991. Over the years, the store expanded several times and now has 6,000 square feet of space.
The store is in the middle of a renovation, which includes a new, handsome facade, new carpeting, a revamped cash wrap, a new foyer that will be a big help during the cold northern New York winters. The renovation also includes a kind of living room near the front that will feature Stickley chairs and lamps.
A few sections of the store along the walls have mirrors behind the shelves. Banners hang from the ceiling, which lend a festive air and cover the institutional-style ceiling tiles.
The Book House has cut back inventory somewhat because of the recession and has adjusted by "doing little cosmetic things to look as pregnant as possible," Novotny said. Concerning the state of the industry in general, Novotny commented: "The sky isn't falling. Yes, we're tightening belts and cutting corners, but this is a viable business that's here to stay."
Among the staff's favorite books that have sold impressive numbers:
- Staggerford by Jon Hasler, published in the 1980s, has sold nearly 1,100 copies.
- Fingersmith by Sarah Waters, a 2002 title, has sold 940 copies.
- The Reluctant Tuscan by Phil Doran has sold 134 copies.
- Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout has sold 145 copies.
Like many booksellers, Novotny said she is "delighted" by the fall and holiday lists.
The Book House carries a range of sidelines, including many chocolates, chai tea, several DVDs at the counter (which do well, Novotny said). The most popular sideline at the moment is Bananagrams.
The store also has a strong map department, including U.S. Geological Survey maps and NOAA charts, although sales are not as strong as they used to be.
The store does a "large business with school systems," and part of the Little Book House, the children's store, is "like a show room," as Novotny put it. Teachers and others come in, grab a box and start filling, she said. The store has regular educators' nights. Children's sales in general are good.
Book House does many author events. "I don't say no to any author who is willing to work to make the event successful," Novotny said. Sometimes the store has seven or eight authors on Sunday afternoons. The New York State Writers Institute, founded in 1983 by William Kennedy, is located at the University of Albany and draws major writers for which the Book House acts as bookseller, usually on the campus. This fall the program is attracting Denis Lahane, who will appear at the Book House, as well as Richard Russo and Lorrie Moore.
The store does not discount titles but has a loyalty program through its Bookaholics Bonus Card.
Susan Novotny's other store, Market Block Books, is in an elegant, inviting 2,700-sq.-ft. space in downtown Troy, N.Y., an area that unlike nearby Albany, was spared the wrecker's boom during the ill-advised period of urban renewal projects. The business district is full of late 19th century buildings, most of which are beautifully restored, by the Hudson River and just down the hill from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Market Block Books is in the Market Block Building, which has several other stores and offices in it, including the offices of Troy Book Makers. (More on this interesting short-run printing venture later this week.)
Market Block Books has a much smaller inventory than the Book House, on average about a quarter of the Albany store's inventory. The titles are carefully selected and turn at a healthy rate. All the back office functions and most buying are done at the Book House in Albany. Economies of scale are very important in running the two stores, Novotny said.
Market Block opened in 2004, "after the owner worked on me for six months," Novotny said. The store has many dramatic, elegant mahogany fixtures from the 1850s that were rescued from Troy Publishing, which was getting rid of them. (Incidentally the many newer bookcases came from a company that Bernie Rath, former executive director of the American Booksellers Association, was associated with.) The store is full of other furniture and objects that "people gave to us because the town was so happy to have us," Novotny said. "It was like a barnraising." These gifts include sofas and tables. The store also has a baby grand piano, on which many music books are displayed. (Novotny said that the piano is broken and too expensive to repair.)
Novotny called Market Block Books "Stanley's store," referring to manager Stanley Hadsell, who has put an emphasis on selection and customer service. Staff recommendations are important at the store, and as a result Market Block Books has some striking sales stories. For example, since the book was published in 2006, the store has sold nearly 170 copies of The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar. (The store stocks all Millar's work.)
With most back office functions handled in Albany, at Market Block Books, there are only five staff members, who work two at a time, so as Hadsell put it, "We get to know customers."
The store has "a ridiculously large" international customer base because of RPI, Hadsell said. Among those customers: a man who lives in London who stops in the store four times a year and buys children's books. Another is a British man who lives in the U.S. and travels internationally regularly and likes to have reading material. A French contingent who visit relatives in Troy during the summer stops and shops at the store.
In addition, because of the store's location at the center of a main intersection, people frequently stop in asking for directions and recommendations on where to eat and shop, "even where to get an apartment," Hadsell said. The store is also near the dock, where tourist boats come upriver and let off large groups of people. Hadsell added, "We're like a tourist bureau here."--John Mutter