BTW Articles

Here are a few scenes from last week's New England Independent Booksellers Association and Midwest Booksellers Association trade shows.

Whether looking for a way to increase margin, responding to customers’ pleas for caffeine, or just because coffee and books are such a natural, booksellers have been including cafés in their bookstores for years. But are they worth it? The majority of booksellers who spoke to BTW say they can be.

Six indie booksellers offer insights on how a café can benefit the entire bookstore, its effect on the bottom line, and whether – after tallying all the added responsibilities and costs – they still think adding a café was a good idea.

MSNBC’s Your Business recently profiled Jonah and Ellen Zimilies, owners of Words bookstore in Maplewood, New Jersey, who instituted a “change of management” style that emphasized capitalizing on staff skills or “job crafting.”