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| The interior of Dove and Hudson Books, Albany, NY Photograph courtesy of J. Nathan |
- to parents with children participating in school from home
- to people who want to continue their life-long learning and
- to those who read to battle the many sources of anxiety.
While bookstores are essential, they pose unique challenges for operating within spatial distancing and other guidelines. Many stores have aisles and reading areas where customers would find it difficult to maintain the six feet distance that is a de facto national standard.
Nevertheless, booksellers are working as hard as they can for their customers within the current quarantine limits. One bookseller walked around his store’s children’s section with his smartphone in video conferencing mode, so a mother and her children could look at titles and get a good collection of books to order.
The New York State Writers Institute, at the State University of New York, Albany, recently hosted a webinar with owners and managers of five Capital Region bookstores. An overview of the discussion and a link to the nearly one-hour long program can be found at the following address:
Governor Newsom amended COVID-19 guidance in a way to lead to California bookstores reopening, with curbside service, starting Friday May 8, 2020. This is a step forward but customers and booksellers continue to yearn for a safe way to reopen an entire store.
During the Writers Institute program, all the booksellers said they are eager to reopen. But they also said they will only reopen if they can do so and protect the safety of customers and staff.
Many bookstores encourage customers to buy gift cards. This generates revenue and makes a commitment to bookstore futures. It's better to buy a gift card as an in-person or doorstep gift. If you mail or ship a gift card and it gets lost, the Postal Service and many carriers do not insure the loss for the total value of the gift card.
This post is a survey of how some of my favorite stores are doing. It is a small sample because of my limited travels and the blog format. Any stories from readers or owners would be welcome.
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518-432-4518 doveandhudson@gmail.com
Dove and Hudson Books sells quality used books. It’s the only bookstore in the city limits of Albany, New York. Joseph Nathan recently bought the store from long-time owner Dan Wedge. In a conversation before he sold the store, Dan said the two most often requested books during his tenure were Robert Caro’s biography of Robert Moses, The Power Broker and William Kennedy’s O Albany! This is so fitting, given the city’s prominence with writers and politics.
“We’ve been closed,” Joseph said, “since Governor Cuomo issued the PAUSE order in March.” “Things are not normal right now,” he continued. “We are,” he concluded “ in an unprecedented moment in history.”
In response to COVID-19 and the closing of bookstores, Joseph said the bookstore is retaining existing practices and undertaking new ones. He continues to fill mail orders and is offering curbside pick-ups. Joseph is building a website for the bookstore.
A particular strong point of Dove and Hudson is that it has a computerized inventory system that might be the envy of bigger stores. It helps Joseph quickly answer queries about whether titles are in stock and, in happier times, tell customers where the book is in the store.
The Open Door Bookstore, 128 Jay Street, Schenectady, NY 12305
The Open Door is Schenectady's locally-owned independent bookstore and gift gallery with deep community roots. In 2021, it will celebrate its 50th anniversary. In the Writer’s Institute program, Lily Bartels, the store's buyer of adult books, said “We now have generations of families who have an emotional connection to the store.” The Open Door carries a wide selection of literature, with an emphasis on children's books and those of local and regional interest, It also has an expansive variety of toys, gifts, jewelry, stationery, personal accessories and home goods.
The bookstore has been closed since the Governor initiated the PAUSE closures. However, the bookstore offers customers several ways to shop. Customers can place an order at the bookstore’s website and they will be shipped to the customer’s home.
In addition, the Open Door offers a personal shopper service. The service is available for books and gifts in the store. According to Janet Hutchison, the store’s owner, “Customers can email a request to general@opendoor-bookstore.com along with their name and phone number.” “A staff member,” she continued, “will call you to discuss and process your order, and to make sure you get exactly what you're looking for!” With the personal shopper service, customers can discuss obtaining items by mail, some limited delivery service or a no-contact pick up at the store. If a customer is not sure what they want, they are invited to email and staff will work to match an item to the customer’s needs.
The Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza and Little Book House, 1475 Western Avenue, Albany, New York 12203
518-489-4761 https://www.bhny.com
Market Block Books, 290 River Street, Troy, NY 12180
518-328-0045 Same website as Book House
The Book House and Little Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza have strong selections of adult and children's books. The store is exceptionally well-designed for browsing, and has a welcoming place at the front of the store where a reader can sit and preview a book before buying it.
They say that book stores can transport a person to different places and worlds. But the Book House can help you literally go somewhere. The store's map and travel guide inventory - - backed up by knowledgeable staff - - is one of the best there is on any of the coasts. And even if no one may travel right now, it's all right to just dream or plan.
Many businesses have come and gone from Stuyvesant Plaza, in the eastern part of Guilderland, but the Book House has remained - - and prospered - - during all these changes.
Market Block Books, in downtown Troy, is the companion to the Book House. The store is in the Market Block, a charming building designed in the Greek Revival style.
According to the Book House website, Book House and Market Block Books staff are answering telephones, Monday through Saturday from 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. These staff can take orders and arrange for curbside pickup.
The website goes on to say the stores “are still closed to public mingling.” But customers can order 24/7 through the store website; most books will be shipped ASAP from the store’s warehouse partners.
Book Alley, 1252 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, California 91106
bookalley@bookalley.com 626-683-8083
I discovered Book Alley while searching for The Man on the Train, a World War II thriller about a Nazi plot to assassinate Winston Churchill as he traveled by train through upstate New York and Vermont in December, 1941, on his way from Washington, D.C. to Montreal.
I found this book on one of those giant online book selling websites. But rather than order through cyberspace, I called the store, sent them a check and got the book soon after.
We have at least one pilgrimage a year to Book Alley. We go in with a mental list. We always leave with something. It may not be a book on the list going in, but it is something delightful. I especially like the store’s California and railroad book sections.
As in New York, California bookstores are closed for browsing.
However, Book Alley is still operating. Its three employee staff, a shipping clerk, bookstore owner and assistant manager, are taking online orders and shipping out books six days a week. Update: Book Alley is now taking orders for curbside pick-up. The store's website explains the process for customers who wish to use the service.
According to Donna, the Assistant Manager, “We are a little swamped with locating books on the shelves and processing them.” “There isn't always someone near the phone to take calls. If you tell us the book(s) you are interested, we can verify that it is still on our shelves before you order. Sometimes we will have difficulty locating books as they are either misplaced or have sold without being deleted from our inventory."
Book Alley’s user-friendly, online searchable catalogue makes it easier for customers to place orders.
Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 Colorado Avenue, Pasadena, California 91101, 626-449-5320 and
Vroman’s Hastings Ranch, 3729 E. Foothill Boulevard, Pasadena, California, 91107, 626-351-0828
Online at www.vromansbookstore.com
The City of Pasadena has two exceptional bookstores within a 10 minute drive of each other. Book Alley nicely handles the used book market segment; Vroman’s is the master of the new books and gifts segment.
Vroman’s is taking online orders. On Friday, the store began a program with online purchases and curbside pick-ups. It is also projecting an active presence online, with book discussion groups and programs.
But Vroman’s is a strong reminder of why the pandemic is so hard for book lovers. The Colorado Avenue store is three stories tall. There is something to catch the eye on every floor. Their greeting card selection has rescued us many times when we needed a card for a special occasion, for example.
The store is doing its best to stay in contact with its customers. But until it reopens, customers cannot wander the store and look at the countless appealing books, gifts and other accessories. And we do not have the chance to benefit from the readers' advisory insights of its booksellers.
All the stores in this post are delightful places to browse and reflect and not being able to visit them is a loss. Let’s hope that with the ingenuity of booksellers and a fewer COVID-19 cases that we can shop and browse again in bookstores.
