Despite the closing of Outwrite Bookstore and Coffeehouse earlier this year and impending loss of Blue Elephant Book Shop later this month, independent bookstore owners in the Atlanta region "are taking varied approaches to staying afloat. They are both abandoning traditional business practices and combining them with new demands of the era. They are digging in and leaping forward. They're in for a good fight," Atlanta INtown reported.
A Cappella Books moved to a smaller, less expensive location, and owner Frank Reiss said, "We have a bit less room, but everything else is still the same. We're kind of off the beaten path and there's not as much foot traffic. So we're prepared to focus on other things, too." Among those "other things" is a strong online business and partnering with local organizations to host author events.
"We're flexible in how we see ourselves," Reiss added. "We're willing to adapt so we can stay. I realize I might have to go out and get a real job one day. But if enough people have an affection for what books represent, we can still serve a purpose. We'll do it as long as we can."
Jeff McCord of Bound to Be Read Books said his shop is "hanging in there, but it's getting increasingly difficult." The promotions he's actively involved with include World Book Night on April 23, when he plans to hand out books at bars in the village. "I just want people to read. So now I'm giving books away."
Serving "a special but broad clientele" is the key for Dave Shallenberger of Little Shop of Stories children's bookstore: "A lot of it is that books are an interactive experience with kids and their parents. I think it's hard to share that with an e-reader. [Reading to a child] is just better in book form."
"If you like bookstores, make sure you walk into them," Alex Nunan of the Book Nook succinctly observed.
And Marlene Zeiler, owner of Tall Tales Book Shop, said indie bookstores will not disappear: "There's always some crazy bookseller who's ready to open a bookstore."