The revival of physical bookstores

For years Barnes and Noble, a chain with 600 stores across all 50 states, was seen as the villain by many readers, writers, and publishers. With its higher prices and a seemingly unpersonal touch, no one wanted to see the company succeed. Recent events have flipped things around as B&N has united with smaller bookstores against a common enemy: online sellers. 

The appeal of any bookstore is the joy that comes from the serendipitous discovery of new authors and genres. People get tired of seeing the same things on every shelf, especially at higher prices. But when online sites came into the picture and people started to go for the quick and easy buy and stopped spending time searching and discovering, B&N and small bookstores banded together and reclaimed that classic bookstore approach.  

Now, book lovers see Barnes and Noble as the hero; without it all physical bookstores face extinction. In a New York Times article, Elizabeth A. Harris wrote, “[Barnes and Noble’s] unique role in the book ecosystem, where it helps readers discover new titles and publishers stay invested in physical stores, makes it an essential anchor in a world upended by online sales and a much larger player: Amazon.” 

Barnes and Noble is sometimes the only bookstore in a town, and thus, it becomes exponentially more important. It helps spur the everyday shopper into a reader. There are so many good reasons to shop in physical bookstores, and along the way you’ll also support small businesses. 

One reason is it will create more jobs. When you buy anything at a small business, you’re giving them more money.  Therefore, they will have more money and so there will be more opportunities to give out jobs because they’ll have more money to pay more people.  

Supporting the small businesses or the independent companies could give them more exposure and make them more popular. With bookstores, this may lead to more money being brought in for them and can lead to more books being offered.  

Some local small-business-orientated bookshops include Caprichos Books in Bel Air and The Ivy Bookshop in Baltimore as well as the Caffeinated Bookworm just outside of Maryland. Supporting these businesses will not only benefit the business itself, but the local bookworms as well. Stop on by to find the unique book perfect for you.