Building Communities: The Bookstore and The Public Space
There is truly nothing like a good bookstore. The smell of the books, the cozy reading nooks, and the camaraderie that comes along with spending a few hours with other book lovers in your neighborhood just can’t be beat. As an independent retail bookstore owner in a rapidly growing digital age, it is imperative to recognize the major role the book store plays in our community. It is my responsibility (and privilege) to keep the American Bookstore alive! The Design of a Welcoming Environment
Creating a place that is welcoming to readers and writers; a place where they want to come to be a part of our unique community. If comfortable furniture for mingling and lingering or plenty of tables for writing and studying is what your looking for in a bookstore, you can find it here at A New Chapter Bookstore. While maybe enjoying ambient music, scented candles, and a quiet library feel is your perfect experience, that can be arranged. No matter what environment our unique customers crave, one thing is certain: y'all want to easily find what you're looking for, our priority is product organization and informative displays are influential. In addition, creative, well thought out displays of books entertain and entice people to read new authors and subjects. Well organized stores with-in labeled sections help customers allow them to explore the store with comfort and ease.
I Am the ‘Hostess with the Mostest’
Getting creative and planning events that welcome the people in our community to our store. Some ideas on the back burner include:
‘Food & Drink Demonstrations’ –matching books with the food or beverage they discuss or showcasing a new recipe made onsite from a new cookbook;
Character Events -your favorite characters come to life in full costume;
Mother/Daughter Tea -high tea for the royal mother and her princess
Daddy Dino Dig -getting dirty and lovin' every minute of it
Sleep With the Stars -overnight camping in our safe secure courtyard complete with a pizza supper, toasted marshmallows, smore's and a lesson on charting the local evening/night sky;
Pet Day –teaming up with a local shelter to help animals find homes, letting customers bring their favorite furry friends:
Game Night –invite people for a game night or teams for a competition and playoff and feature games and related books.
Providing a Service
A New Chapter Bookstore knows that books are obviously the 'bread and butter' of an independent bookstore, but being able to offer other services our customers can use just makes sense. We have onsite an operational Coffee House with weekend Barista, do catering events, serve pastries, soup, salad and sandwiches on request. We are preparing to offer classes: language, writing, craft, home-school or other types of classes in the bookstore, as well as literature to support these subjects.
Neighborhood Shopping Nights
Planning a ‘Neighborhood Shopping Night’ spotlighting books, providing refreshments, holding a raffle for gift cards and books, have guest authors and publishers, and even have the local radio station do a live on location appearance. Making this a monthly event and get the community involved by teaming with restaurants, bakeries, schools, girl and boy scouts, and more is what we want to bring to the community.
Book Club Guru
We are the book club! We can create the most unique book clubs that offer a variety of different interests and age groups. We are able to plan clubs for teens, seniors, moms, and even singles in our store. We urge people to come, discover, read and mingle amongst their friends and others of similar fondness. Another option, we can act as the ‘concierge’ for your at-home book club, we can host a "dating event" for book clubs to choose their next read. We will offer book suggestions as well as a discount for the selected book.
The Key
Our customers are the key to being successful. A New Chapter Bookstore's desire is to create a comfortable and inviting environment that others can’t compete with. We get to know our people and become part of their lives for the win!