Hoosier Throws Big Hat Into Ring

Elizabeth Barden, marketing consultant and New York City native, relocated to Indianapolis about three years ago and recently opened the city's only general interest, independent bookstore. Big Hat Books, which celebrates its grand opening this Friday, occupies a little over 1,000 square feet in a storefront right off the city's greenway -- a former railroad bed popular with cyclists, joggers, and amblers.

The Big Hat grand opening will feature three local writers, Sam Stall, Lou Harry, and Julia Spalding, whose new book, The Encyclopedia of Guilty Pleasures: 1,001 Things You Hate to Love, has been published by Quirk Publishing. "An Evening of Guilty Pleasures," according to Barden, could include anything from Barry Manilow to Members Only jackets, and Benny Hill.

Barden moved to Indianapolis with some trepidation, having previously lived on one coast or the other. The location was selected when her spouse, the novelist Dan Barden, secured a tenure track position at Butler University. The two settled into the "civilized" city of 1.5 million people, leaving briefly to travel to St. Petersburg, Russia, to bring home their son, Duke. "Once we had Duke," she told BTW, "I didn't want to travel much. I thought about what kind of person do I want him to have as a mother and what kind of world do I want him to grow up in. I decided that I preferred independent bookseller to 'corporate girl,' and that I wanted a world full of independent businesses with a love of books and language."

"It's kind of scary to start a new career at 42," she said, "but I can use my marketing skills, and we found a perfect spot. Big Hat is right next door to an independent cafe." Dan Barden spotted the location one day when he was getting a coffee, "He saw someone putting up a 'for rent' sign in the garden store [the former occupants]. He practically grabbed it, and told the landlord that he wanted his wife to come see the space immediately. As soon as I saw it, I knew."

There are two good children's bookstores, a gay bookstore, and several Christian bookstores, but Indianapolis needs a general bookstore, according to Barden. She wants it to be a community gathering place and a stop for authors appearing in Chicago. "We know lots of authors on both coasts, and they've said that as long as they're in Chicago, they might as well come to Indianapolis. There are also a lot of good local authors."

Barden immediately joined Book Sense and BookSense.com. "All the bookstores that I have been to and loved have been Book Sense stores. I spoke to Mitch Kaplan at Books & Books in Miami -- the first thing I noticed on [the store's] Web site was the Book Sense logo. Mitch said that Book Sense was integral to a successful launch and that I will always appreciate that support. Once I began looking for the Book Sense name, I started seeing it all over.

"I am excited about the concept of an alliance of independent businesses who each have distinct personalities as bookstores and as booksellers, but value each other, and present a united front. I couldn't have done this without the help of ABA. I wouldn't have known where to begin. At the [Great Lakes Booksellers Association] trade show, I attended everything I could and got so much useful information from the educational sessions.

"Faced with those empty shelves, I felt a huge responsibility to have books that I felt were valuable for people to read. Space is very limited. We have to carry bestsellers but I think that the Book Sense Bestseller List is more informed than the New York Times list. I can't wait to find out what our store bestsellers will be. I've gone directly to publishers and have handpicked titles. I can stand behind every single pick. If I love it, even if it's not at the top of any list yet, I'm confident about it. The reps have been amazing: They have spent lots of time with me, going through catalogs page by page … sending me galleys.

"One rep said that I had to read Honey, Baby, Sweetheart [by Deb Caletti, S&S Books for Young Readers] -- it didn't sound like my kind of title, but she sent me a copy and followed up to see if I had read it. I loved it and then it turned up as a National Book Award nominee for children's literature.

"We are promoting a large teens and 'tweens section. I've been interesting kids -- boys and girls, 11 to 16 -- through a contest. I've started with kids of friends and neighborhood kids hanging out. If they will read books that I provide and write a short review, and I choose their review for either a shelf talker, the Web site, or as a newsletter recommendation, I'll use their name and give them credit for one new book."

Barden considers herself very lucky that Nicole Brooks, formerly of Elliott Bay Books in Seattle, has moved back to the area and is working as the full-time store manager. She is hiring one other full-time person and hopes to hire part-timers who will stay around long enough to get to know customers well and learn their taste in books.

So what's with the name? Barden maintains that Indiana was the West before it was the Midwest. She explained to BTW, "The whole venture to me seemed like a cowboy thing -- going out on a limb. It captured the spirit of the West -- freedom, independence, and the unknown. It has some kind of excitement. You go places with books and don't always know where you will end up. It's also a happy name and logo, with the big hat and sun behind it, and it covers a lot of ground. As women, we wear many hats -- and I hope this one fits me well." --Nomi Schwartz