In May, the Inquiring Mind, which has a store in Saugerties, N.Y., is opening a branch in New Paltz, N.Y., according to the New Paltz Oracle. New Paltz, home of a branch of the State University of New York, has been without a new bookstore since the closing of Ariel Booksellers last year. Inquiring Mind owner Brian Donahue told the paper that he is making the move in part because of the encouragement of two former Ariel booksellers who now work for him.

The Inquiring Mind "is similar to Ariel to some extent, but we have our own personality and are much more focused on political and environmental issues," Donahue told the paper. The Saugerties store carries some 12,000 books as well as music titles and also has a strong psychology section.

---

Bookselling This Week tunes into wi-fi, which some booksellers have installed in their stores to attract more customers. For Nomad Book House, Jackson, Mich., offering wi-fi was "one of our smartest decisions," owner Bridget Rothenberger told BTW. "It shows we're progressive, not some stodgy old bookstore. It's that extra add-on: 'And free wireless!' It really draws people in. I recommend it to every bookstore."

Philip Rafshoon of Outwrite Bookstore and Coffeehouse in Atlanta, Ga., said that "a fuller bookstore is a better bookstore and one that attracts other people. . . .  It's competitive positioning. Not everyone reads books--it attracts people who wouldn't normally frequent a bookstore." One nice twist to Outwrite's wi-fi arrangement: the store pays nothing for the service. The provider's compensation is that users see an ad when they sign on.

---

In reaction to all she took in at the ABA's Winter Institute, Becky Milner, owner of Vintage Books, Vancouver, Wash., offered a list of changes she and her staff have made at the store, as noted by BTW. Among the changes: "handselling" newsletter signups instead of relying on customers to sign up on a clipboard and the increased use of shelf talkers, particularly in the children's section, where the shelf talkers are written with parents and grandparents in mind.

--- 

Lisa Levinson has been appointed to the newly created position of sales and marketing director for Time Out Guides, overseeing North America and Latin America. She previously worked at S&S for 27 years, most recently as director of national accounts. She can be reached at lisal@timeoutny.com.

---

Janet McDonald has been promoted to v-p of client acquisitions at Ingram Publisher Services. She joined Ingram in 1999 as v-p and general manager of Spring Arbor Distributors, the Christian book distributor and for the past year and a half focused on "developing the organization to successfully bring publishers' titles to market, while continuing to run our ABA independent and Spring Arbor wholesaler efforts," as Phil Ollila, senior v-p of IPS, put it. 

Share This

More on Rich Freese's condition: when he fell on stairs at his home Sunday night, the PGW president broke three ribs, an elbow and may have damaged his hand, but there were no spinal or neurological injuries, according to friends. He has had some difficulty breathing because of the broken ribs and asthma but may be released from the hospital as early as today.

---

RadioFreePGW has a very negative take on the contract that PGW publishers who don't want to go with Perseus are being asked to sign to get out of their relationship with PGW, saying to PGW publishers that it "will force you to give up the majority of your rights that are guaranteed under the bankruptcy code." The site also reports that losing bidder NBN is offering 85 cents on the dollar to publishers who have not signed with Perseus.

The bankruptcy court has approved PGW publisher Amber-Allen's bid to have its contract cancelled, which will be effective on the projected Perseus-PGW closing date of next Wednesday, February 28.

Share This

• John Mueller, author of Overblown: How Politicians and the Terrorism Industry Inflate National Security Threats, and Why We Believe Them (Free Press, $25, 9781416541714/1416541713).
• Dr. Marc Siegel, author of False Alarm: The Truth About the Epidemic of Fear (Wiley, $14.95, 9780470053843/0470053844).
• Barry Glassner, author of The Gospel of Food (Ecco, $25.95, 9780060501211/0060501219).

Share This

When Jerry Bilek opened a bookstore in Northfield, Minn., last July, he needed a name for the retail outlet. He has his 11-year-old daughter to thank for coming up with the store's moniker, Monkey See Monkey Read.

The 1,000-sq.-ft., general interest bookstore stocks 10,000 titles and is the culmination of eight years of planning by Bilek, who has plenty of experience in the business. Prior to opening Monkey See Monkey Read, Bilek's 15-year bookselling career included a stint at a Minneapolis Borders and, most recently, as a buyer at the St. Olaf College bookstore in Northfield.

Located 40 miles south of the Twin Cities, Northfield has 18,000 residents and four bookstores. In addition to Monkey See Monkey Read and St. Olaf's, another area academic institution, Carleton College, owns two stores--a campus bookstore and an independent bookstore located in downtown Northfield, one block from Monkey See Monkey Read.

The space in the historic 19th-century building that houses Monkey See Monkey Read was a used bookstore for more than a decade. When the previous owner told Bilek he wanted to sell the store, Bilek advised him on how he might go about it--until he realized that this might be his chance finally to own open his own shop. Bilek purchased the prior owner's inventory and closed the store for two months to remodel. "It was crowded, and there were books stacked everywhere," said Bilek, whose goal was to create a more "browser friendly" atmosphere.

Bilek reduced the inventory by a third and added seating. He purchased bookcases on wheels that can be moved aside when the store hosts events. Two small rooms have been converted into kids' areas, one for children and the other for young adults. When creating the young adult room, Bilek sought advice from his daughter on merchandise and décor. Along with a selection of books and games, there is an ottoman, funky lamps and a beaded curtain hanging in the doorway. Having a separate area for young adults that is not part of a children's section has helped make the store a popular after-school hangout.

Aside from changing the look of the store, Bilek modified the business model. "I knew if I wanted it to work, I would have to make some changes," he said. The previous owner indicated he was struggling to stay afloat, and rather than follow suit and sell entirely used books, Bilek stocks a mix of new, used and remainder titles. Standouts for the store so far include Marley & Me by John Grogan, Truck: A Love Story by Michael Perry, Sweet Land: New and Selected Stories by Will Weaver and books by Minnesota writers Garrison Keillor and Louise Erdrich. Bilek also sells books online, which accounts for a significant percentage of the store's revenue.

Among the store's sidelines are DVDs (with a variety of foreign films), Wild Republic stuffed animals and games. He bypasses popular games such as Monopoly, which can be found at Toys R Us and Target, and instead opts for lesser-known items like card games from Set Enterprises and products from Gamewright, a company he discovered at BookExpo America.

An ample supply of manga titles resulted from customer requests, and it's now one of the store's bestselling categories. Bilek also brought in a display of poetry books by area publisher Red Dragonfly Press, an example of how he strives to differentiate merchandise from that sold by other bookstores.

Monkey See Monkey Read is located on the main street in downtown Northfield, where neighboring businesses include an antiques store, an art gallery and a coffee shop. St. Olaf and Carleton colleges draw visitors to the area, and the town has an active chamber of commerce that promotes Northfield as a tourist destination. An annual Winter Walk extravaganza during the holiday season and a Crazy Daze summer shopping event bring foot traffic to the retail district.

Each year in September Northfield holds a four-day fête commemorating an infamous incident in its past--the "Defeat of Jesse James Days," a re-enactment of the town's victory over the James-Younger gang when the outlaws tried to rob the First National Bank in 1876. Now a museum operated by the Northfield Historical Society, the former bank is across the street from Monkey See Money Read. During the four days of the event, said Bilek, his sales were steady. "But I was selling mostly to people I don't usually see," he added. Regular customers avoided the fanfare and chose to shop on different days.

Bilek has hosted a number of events since opening the store, among them poetry readings with local Dragonfly Press authors and a children's party for the release of Lemony Snicket's The End. He's planning to hold one reading per month and is in the process of launching a book club as a way to "draw new customers into the store." Bilek has selected the novel The Bird Artist by Howard Norman as the club's inaugural pick.

Bilek noted the importance of having a Web site as a tool to promote Monkey See Monkey Read. "In this town a lot of parents come to visit their kids at college," he said, and they like to research activities ahead of time. Another outlet for marketing the store is a blog Bilek has been asked to write for the community Web site www.northfield.org, which will feature recommended reading and information about the store's events. The blog is a way to connect with an audience, said Bilek, "that I don't reach through advertising in the local newspaper or that doesn't come into my store already."

Along with the three other bookstores in town, Monkey See Monkey Read sponsors Northfield Reads!, a community-wide program that pairs a featured reading selection with an author appearance. Fiction scribes Lorna Landvik (Oh My Stars), Jane Hamilton (When Madeline Was Young), and Cheryl Strayed (Torch) have all participated.

In his role as a buyer for the St. Olaf Bookstore, Bilek also purchased titles for Carleton College's two outlets (although separate entities, the colleges sometimes share costs for certain positions). He remains on good terms with his former colleagues, who were, in fact, supportive when Bilek announced his plans to open a bookstore. "They were very encouraging," he said. "Everyone who knows me knows how passionate I am about bookselling."--Shannon McKenna

Monkey See Monkey Read is located at 425 Division Street in Northfield, Minn., 55057; 507-645-6700; www.monkeyread.com.

Share This

Share This

Share This