Enter any Barnes and Noble, or other chain bookstore, and you will find the same things: popular titles, flashy advertising, and Starbucks coffee. The fixtures are more permanent, and rather than the seller buying the books, the publishing companies pay the bookstore to sell their titles. Chains have few face-out copies, and the ones that are exposed are the popular titles of the week. The audience for our B&N in particular is the college student. There are reference books scattered throughout the store, and the spirit wear section is as large, if not larger, than the novel display areas. Until recently I have fed my literary cravings by going to chain bookstores like Barnes and Noble; I now realize how deprived I have been.
Upon entering Baine’s Books, an independent bookstore in Appomattox, I felt a sense of comfort that has been missing from my chain store experience. Everything from the local art on the walls to the creaks of the wooden floor boards screamed “Come in … and while you’re at it, stay forever!” The floor set up of Baine’s was different from other chain stores in content, but their ultimate goal was the same: sell baby, sell. Unlike chains, however, the marketing was much more subtle. Baine’s highlighted several different types of novelties including hand-crafted coffee mugs, new and used music, DVDs, and antique books. There was also a piano and a guitar shoved away for the evening’s entertainment. Aside from these extras, I was especially intrigued by the first display of books I encountered; a table full of pulp fiction, movies, how to design character costumes, and all of the “underground” (to me at least) literature that is almost never displayed in the front windows of chains. It really opened my eyes to the different genres and types of books in print.
The set-up of the novels was designed to draw visitors farther and farther into the store. First, the organization of the face-out titles was locally focused: Civil War books, Native American cultures, and Irish folklore to name a few. Once these books grabbed the eye, it led to the more marketed novels of Rachel Ray and Barack Obama. The classic and used book sections shortly followed. Sprinkled throughout the floor were movable dumps that housed children’s novels and Penguin Press classic prints. The store allowed you to interact with it. There were lists of top selling books and CDs, as well as a list of stolen products including a Johnny Cash album that the store owners were quite shocked about. I enjoyed the organized randomness that the store offered and was especially impressed by its promotion of other independent markets; I was able to view a local photographer’s art as I walked up the stairs to the art and music novels, and I could purchase locally roasted coffee beans and buy homemade truffles and cookies from the in-store bakery/coffee shop. While the convenience of walking down the street to the Barnes & Noble is exactly that, convenient, I would much rather drive the extra thirty miles to Baine’s.
