Vroman's Celebrates Bookseller of the Year Honor

Since Tuesday, March 11, when Publishers Weekly named Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, California, its 2008 Bookseller of the Year, the staff of "129 incredible employees" has received "congratulatory phone calls, e-mails, and flowers from colleagues and publishers and authors and friends of the store. It was a really great day for everyone here," said Allison Hill, Vroman's president and COO.

PW recognized the 114-year-old bookstore for overall excellence, encompassing everything from buying, marketing, handselling, and customer service, to community involvement, management-employee relations, and always striving to be innovative and unique.

"I'm certain there was tough competition, as there is every year," Hill told BTW. "There are so many stores that we admire around the country and especially here in Los Angeles. I imagine we stood out because of our commitment to balancing good business with doing good work in the world."

To ensure Vroman's continued profitability, "we're constantly looking at ways to generate income, reduce expenses, manage the store more efficiently and more effectively," said Hill.

Among the more unique ways the store has sought to generate income is by registering with Hollywood location scouts and renting the store for overnight filming for movies, commercials, and television.

Hill also said that, having recognized the value of book industry co-op dollars to support the store's merchandising efforts, Vroman's seeks similar opportunities in the non-book world to generate revenue as well.

"While we're watching for opportunities that improve our profitability, we're simultaneously recognizing that our efforts need to transcend the bottom line," she said, pointing to letter explaining Vroman's customer service philosophy that is given to all new employees. "To this end, we donate one percent of customer purchases to local charities through the Vroman's Gives Back program. We create staff scholarships to send frontline booksellers to industry events like the Winter Institute and BEA. We offer a profit-sharing plan to employees. Through a program we call Vroman's Employee Enrichment Program, we offer free classes to staff on topics such as self-defense, CPR, meditation, and personal finances."

Hill also noted that the bookstore has made a concerted effort to improve its green quotient by installing no flush urinals and timer thermostats, evaluating lighting needs, changing the settings on computers to use less energy, and implementing a recycling program for everything from computers to paper to fluorescent bulbs. (See related article.)

But Hill added, "At the core of all of this is a love for books. A passionate, sometimes obsessive, deliriously happy love for writing and authors and books and reading."

Asked how she personally felt about the honor, Hill told BTW: "In college I majored in literature, and peace and justice studies. I couldn't imagine then that I would find a job that would so perfectly marry these two passions. I get to be surrounded by smart, funny, creative people everyday, work in an industry made up of committed, passionate, wonderful people, and I get to be surrounded by books -- the thing I love most in the world. Everyday I am grateful that I stumbled into bookselling 16 years ago."

Vroman's Bookstore will be honored at PW's 16th annual award ceremony at this year's BookExpo America in Los Angeles. --Rosemary Hawkins