This week in our library school book news project, the topics touched on, among other things, the role of bookstores within the larger publishing ecosystem. Given our close connections with local independent bookstores in particular here at the Butterflies & Aliens Library, this was a particularly interesting topic to dig into.

In looking around at current news on bookstores, I was surprised to discover a barely-week-old article in Forbes magazine listing bookstores as the most recession-proof business category in the United States in 2023, a welcome bit of good news in an otherwise often gloomy landscape.

By their calculations, a large increase in the number of bookstores opened in 2020-2021 (42.75%+), a relatively low start up cost (at least compared to some other business types), and, most notably to me, an increase in average weekly wages during the “Great Recession” of 2008-2010 and during the height of the Pandemic 2021-2022 (13% and 16% respectively), all translated into the highest recession-proof score out of 60 small business types, and one of only two to break 50 out of a hundred: bookstores scored 55, followed by public relations agencies with 51.

The article also links through to a New York Times article detailing how over 300 new bookstores opened in the US in the previous two years. That article goes on to put in print my exact reaction — “something unexpected happened: Small booksellers not only survived the pandemic, but many are thriving” — and then surprised me even more by saying that, not only were they thriving, “as the number of stores has grown, the book selling business — traditionally overwhelmingly white — has also become much more diverse” (Alter, 2022).

Meanwhile here in Canada, the Canadian Independent Booksellers Association currently lists 132 booksellers in its directory, which notably does not include the various branches and brands of the Chapters-Indigo company.

I think this all speaks to the importance of the bookstore within the larger publishing ecosystem, possibly their role as a third space within the larger cultural context, and the continuing, and hopefully enduring, appeal of books in all their forms.

To close with a bit of encouragement to support this trend, some links to share that I’ve possibly shared previously:

• https://shoplocal.bookmanager.com/isbn/ — follow this link then add your ISBN of choice at the end and this widget will pull up a list of local indie bookstores where you can buy the corresponding book, if available (learn more on our page about the Shop Local initiative)

• https://libro.fm/ — a non-Amazon alternative for audiobooks that also allows you to direct a portion of your spending to a local bookstore

So happy book buying and happy reading!

– Winston

Works Cited

Alter, A. & Harris, E. A. (2022, July 10). Some Surprising Good News: Bookstores Are Booming and Becoming More Diverse. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/10/books/bookstores-diversity-pandemic.html

Egan, J. (2023, February 21). Here Are America’s Most Recession-Proof Businesses. Forbes Advisor. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/most-recession-proof-businesses