Vox on Indies: 'How Bookstores Are Weathering the Pandemic'

A Vox article "How Bookstores Are Weathering the Pandemic" surveys indie bookselling at a time when many stores are closing--one per week on average--with some 20% of stores in danger of shutting their doors permanently.

Among the many booksellers and Binc staff quoted, Kris Kleindienst of Left Bank Books, St. Louis, Mo., said that when the store closed to the public in March with shelves full of new releases, "All of a sudden, they just became décor."

Vox noted that after the pandemic hit, "the switch to online and curbside ordering saved bookstores from ruin. But it wasn't easy, nor was it enjoyable." As Steven Salardino, manager of Skylight Books, Los Angeles, Calif., said: "It started to feel like a fulfillment warehouse for widgets. It really took a toll on us psychologically."

Annie Philbrick of Bank Square Books, Mystic, Conn., and Savoy Bookshop & Café, Westerly, R.I., personally began delivering books to customers' homes. "I was a UPS driver for a month or so," she said. Both she and Salardino emphasized that grateful customers helped them while they adapted to new business realities.

Now with no federal support, booksellers are nervously approaching the holiday season. As Bradley Graham, co-owner of Politics & Prose, Washington, D.C., said: "Given the current level of economic activity, it's not realistic to think that bookstores or other retail businesses can, on their own, make a go of it. More federal assistance is needed so long as the pandemic persists."

Still, as Philbrick said, "We're a stalwart bunch. We're just going to keep going. We're not dead."

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