Independent Booksellers
Independent booksellers (or indie booksellers) are bookstores that operate through independent owners who aren't part of larger bookstore chains or superstores like Barnes & Noble. Most independent booksellers only have one store, but there are some that operate through multiple locations.[1] Today, there are over "1,900 independent booksellers in North America", making them a huge part of the book trade in the U.S. (Robinson 246).[2] However, it's also important to note that these bookstores have faced great obstacles in recent years. Many avid readers choose to purchase books from bookstore chains and superstores since those places oftentimes offer cheaper prices and a wider variety of books. The indie bookstores that have been able to keep up with larger chains have done so by "knowing the local market and providing the kinds of personal touches and personal services that large chains and online vendors cannot" (Robinson 247).[3] Some bookstores such as Politics and Prose in Washington D.C., host classes, workshops, and author events to help distinguish themselves from the larger chains, making them more appealing to readers.[4]
While larger bookstore chains and superstores tend to dominate the book market, independent booksellers still have a critical relationship with publishers and help to generate significant amounts of revenue within the publishing industry. This is because indie booksellers oftentimes promote diverse authors and titles that larger chains don't. The unique events and titles that indie booksellers offer their customers allows them to develop more personal relationships with people and with publishers, especially small presses who might not have as many resources to market their books.
The Strand Bookstore
The Strand is a popular indie bookstore located on Broadway and Twelfth Street in New York City. It is the only remaining survivor from "Book Row", "a stretch of Fourth Avenue between about Union Square and Astor Place" where almost fifty independent bookstores thrived and sold secondhand books from the 1890s to the 1960s (Robinson 248). Today, The Strand still thrives and offers readers a selection of 2.5 million books from new editions to rare and used books.[6]
Notes
- ↑ Barron, Kaelyn. “What Are Independent Bookstores and Why Do They Matter?” TCK Publishing, 7 Sept. 2021, www.tckpublishing.com/what-are-independent-bookstores/.
- ↑ Robinson, Solveig C. The Book in Society : An Introduction to Print Culture. Peterborough, Broadview Press, 2014, p. 246.
- ↑ Robinson, Solveig C. The Book in Society : An Introduction to Print Culture. Peterborough, Broadview Press, 2014, p. 247.
- ↑ Robinson, Solveig C. The Book in Society : An Introduction to Print Culture. Peterborough, Broadview Press, 2014, p. 247.
- ↑ Strandbooks.com, 2025, www.strandbooks.com/.
- ↑ Robinson, Solveig C. The Book in Society : An Introduction to Print Culture. Peterborough, Broadview Press, 2014, p. 248.
