I’m in the middle of editing a book for Rose Metal Press, but I figured I’d take a quick break and share one tiny sliver of an idea I have for The Davis Bookstore Project — which, again, you’re more than welcome to join, so please consider following us on facebook and dropping by our meetings — and talk about novelty shelves:
- Meta-Shelves: if you’re an independent bookstore in a town already filled with independent bookstores and are worrying about “leakage” (browsing at one store, buying someplace else, costing sellers $260 million a year according to a recent survey which is otherwise filled with some very encouraging news), try a ‘Meta Shelf’ — if it fits into your budget, pick what other stores in the area best represent, and — say — for your opening week, showcase what others have to offer. If it lasts only a week, I wouldn’t imagine you’d have to worry about community relations — if anything, by appearing in your store and surrounded by your books, it is one way of connecting yourself to the community.
- ‘Books Referenced In —’ : this would be great for teachers. If you know that a nearby high school or university always teaches a course around a certain book and you have a good relationship with them, see if you can arrange a shelf to reflect that. If it’s ol’ Billy Shakespeare, fill that bookcase with Jean Froissart’s Chroniques, Holinshed’s Chronicles, Arthur Brooke, Spenser, Ovid, Plautus, Thomas Lodge, Thomas Kyd, Phil Sidney, and the like.
- ‘Award-Themed Shelves.’ Obvious choice, but don’t go for Nobel Prize winners — look at what’s happening at Hay, Frankfurt, San Francisco’s LitQuake, and elsewhere.
Like a lot of things, I’m approaching this as an enthusiastic amateur. These or future ideas might not be realistic when it comes down to the end of the decision making line, but that is the benefit of operating with a certain sort of strategic naivete.
Previously: Why Do I Want To See A Bookstore In Somerville? / Some of the Oldest Bookstores on the European Continent.
