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Bookbinders Basalt to Open in Colorado

A new independent bookstore, Bookbinders Basalt, will open next month in the Willits Town Center in Basalt, Colorado, reported the Aspen Daily News.

The store, owned by Catherine Maas, will offer books for children and adults, magazines, gifts, and toys, and will have a focus on local authors and merchandise of local interest. Events will include story times and activities for kids.

Book Culture to Open Branch in Queens

New York City’s Book Culture, which has three locations in Manhattan, will be opening a store in Long Island City, Queens, which is experiencing a construction boom that will bring thousands of residential units to the area, according to the New York Times.

Book Culture has leased a 2,300-square-foot storefront at 26-09 Jackson Avenue at a discounted rent until the store begins turning a profit. Other businesses nearby include coffee chain Toby’s Estate, an Italian restaurant, and a high-end grocery store.

NewSouth Bookstore to Expand

NewSouth Bookstore in Montgomery, Alabama, is launching a renovation and expansion plan, reported the Montgomery Advertiser. “It’s going to be a more dynamic place overall,” said owner Suzanne La Rosa.

La Rosa hired a new employee, Brandie Johnson, to run the store and oversee the changes, which already include an increased inventory of new items and non-book items and the incorporation of historic furniture in the store’s décor. In the future, the store will take over part of the building used by its publishing business in order to create a new children’s area and event space.

“We want this to be a place where people from all walks of life can come and spend time together, have a cup of coffee,” Johnson said.

Country Bookshelf Marks 60 Years

Bozeman, Montana’s Country Bookshelf celebrated its 60th anniversary the weekend of April 29–30, reported the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, an event that coincided with Independent Bookstore Day.

“It’s just such an honor that Bozeman has supported us for all these years,” said owner Ariana Paliobagis. “We’re going for another 60 as far as we’re concerned.”

Paliobagis took ownership of the store, which opened in 1957, in 2010 and has seen an annual increase in sales each year. Country Bookshelf hosts a variety of events each week and has an online shop that sells e-books and audiobooks in addition to print titles.

Independent bookstores need to be “open to adapting and looking for creative ways to engage with the community,” Paliobagis told the Chronicle. “Independent bookstores that have weathered the storms of the last 10 years have done so because they have strong connections with their communities.”

Indie Bookstore Documentary Features Learned Owl

Learned Owl Book Shop staffer Alana King, who is in her first year of film school in Chicago, created the documentary Independent Bookstores: Ever Resilient for one of her classes. The 10-minute YouTube video highlights the ways in which independent bookstores are thriving in the age of online retail, from hosting author events and book clubs to providing on-the-nose bookseller recommendations.

The documentary also features interviews with staff at Hudson, Ohio’s Learned Owl, including owner Kate Schlademan, and discusses the importance of ABA’s Winter Institute and the support of author James Patterson.

Maria’s Bookshop on TV for Independent Bookstore Day Festivities

Durango TV visited Maria’s Bookshop in Durango, Colorado, on Independent Bookstore Day, April 29, to film a piece about the bookstore.

The clip highlights the resurgence of independent bookstores and features interviews with Roger Cottingham, community relations manager for Maria’s, and local author Blake Crouch (Dark Matter, Crown), who worked as a bookseller in honor of Independent Bookstore Day.

Betsy Burton of The King’s English Pens Op-Ed

Betsy Burton, co-owner of The King’s English Bookshop in Salt Lake City, Utah, recently had an op-ed about the House’s passage of the American Health Care Act of 2017 published in the Salt Lake Tribune.

In the piece, Burton relayed what the bill would mean for her family and other families and children with disabilities.

Burton also said that while much of what she wrote came from the heart of a mother, as a businessperson she feels the Affordable Care Act has been crucial in helping small business owners to both gain access to affordable health care coverage and be able to extend that coverage to their employees.