R.J. Julia Marks 20 Years

"It was meant to be just a little thing," R.J. Julia Booksellers owner Roxanne Coady said, describing the anniversary toast that kicked off her store's 20th anniversary celebration this week. "But we had to close it off at two hundred people."

The customers who attended Tuesday's toast will be returning to the store many times over the next few months, as the Madison, Connecticut, store celebrates with book-related events, a party, and a project that Coady is most proud of: R.J. Julia will deliver more than a thousand books to New Haven elementary school students, "as a gift from the store." Coady, who is also the chair of Read to Grow, a nonprofit literacy organization, said the book donation "feels to me like the right thing to celebrate 20 years."

Coady, who founded the store in 1990, said, "Those small moments where you're part of the customer's life are the most satisfying." But even though she loves to talk about how moved she was when authors like Alice Sebold and Pete Hamill made personal connections with her customers, Coady is far from sentimental about bookselling. "As much as I love the book business, I love the business of business," she said. "I don't think it's going to be okay to sit still" as the book industry evolves.

As part of its own evolution, R.J. Julia will promote and expand its Just the Right Book program, which was launched in November. "What we as independents know how to do is put the right book in the right hands," Coady said. Through Just the Right Book, R.J. Julia booksellers combine their handselling skills with "a focus on books as gifts," allowing the store to expand its clientele by focusing its efforts. "I'm very excited about the prospects," she said.

Coady doesn't know what R.J. Julia and Just the Right Book will look like in another 20 years, but she said she is both "thrilled about the challenge" and "determined to figure it out." --Sarah Rettger