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The only Barnes & Noble or Borders stores are 70 miles away in Burlington (if shoppers wish to support NY, I think Saratoga Springs is about 50 miles away).

I don't think Northshire Books is threatened today, and likely not soon with a population of 3,000. The question for the small bookstores is can they survive providing books and services the Big Marts don't (obscure titles, personal service of some sort) while surrendering the volume & profits the bestsellers bring to the Big Marts?

Many people may applaud the small bookstores, but they have voted with their spending habits.

The surviving small guys in my mid-sized city have done what you suggest: find a way to NOT compete with the Big Marts, but find the niche that provides them advantage.

When the Big Marts feel there is enough market size, the first shot over Northshire's bow will be the glorified card shops of Walden Books & B. Dalton (both owned by the two Big Marts).

I wish them luck.

Posted by Jeff at September 1, 2006 3:45 PM

Tom - Great to hear about a 'little ‘un' beating up the ‘big ‘uns’ - I do hope they continue to flourish as there really is nothing to beat local service FOR local people FROM local people. I think EVERYTHING is threatened by internet buying (and that is good in 99% of cases) but I to hope small local stores survive.

I have made a decision to take a break from TP Blog. Best wishes to all my ‘virtual friends’ on TP Blog and I hope to look in occasionally. Keep up the great work folks!

Posted by Trevor Gay at September 1, 2006 4:02 PM

(TPC = Global Small-Mart!)

Tom,
if I remember correctly one of your recent articles/comments, you are leaving for Australia this Friday. If am right, I wish you a good journey and much success in Down Under.
Best Regards from Berlin
Horst

Posted by Horst Schueberl at September 1, 2006 6:22 PM

Tom:

Kudos to Northshire and thanks to you for highlighting their great work. The renovation is fantastic and it's one of the only places with highspeed wi-fi in either Manchester or Dorset.

Fun to see my favorite bookstore getting the well-deserved PR it deserves from the of the giants of business consulting.

Thanks, Tim

Posted by Timothy Post at September 1, 2006 10:29 PM

Paradoxically, clicking on the book titles in this posting takes you to Amazon.com not to http://www.northshire.com/ - seems we have identified why small bookstores are a dying breed.

Posted by Mike L at September 1, 2006 10:52 PM

Trevor, best wishes. You've contributed much.

Posted by cathy mosca at September 4, 2006 9:18 AM

The pleasure has been all mine Cathy ... and of course I will be watching :-)

Posted by Trevor Gay at September 4, 2006 10:26 AM

While we are talking about VT anniversaries... I have to say I am pretty proud that the company I work for (Orvis) is celebrating 150 years this year... AND is from Manchester VT... the same town as the Northshire Bookstore.... must be something in the water... (in our case fish, I imagine)

There was a thread some time ago where Tom had said he was not generally impressed with companies that are simply "built to last" instead of commited to change and innovation...

It is pretty cool (and TPBLOG-related to mention) that Tom had written in USA TODAY in 1989 that Orvis Fly Rods were among the best products made in America in the 1980s... we were in good company.. Mac computers were also on that list...

This year, Field & Stream magazine named Orvis Zero Gravity Fly Rods....manufactured from the same materials as apache helicopter blades.... as the Best of the Best for 2006...pretty cool for an old company like Orvis to stay at ahead of the pack for 150 years... built to last is one thing, built to last AND continue to innovate is quite another.

Posted by James Hathaway at September 4, 2006 11:03 AM

Our book links do not go directly to amazon.com unless that is the last online bookstore you've used. We use linkbaton: http://www.openly.com/linkbaton/
to make our book links go to a list of bookstores, but once you have clicked on one of them and made a choice, they continue to give you the same one. The other possibilities then show up in a drop-down box. So, we do what we can to NOT promote one book-selling website, but, alas, to seek out the private booksellers is as difficult online as it is in the bricks-and-mortar world.

My best independent bookstore locally is Harvard Bookstore in the Square. Parking is difficult, and there are not many occasions that take me to Harvard Square these days. I find myself in malls with big-name bookstores as the most convenient choice. I have to go out of my way to get to the independents. (Another is Banbury Cross Children's Bookshop in Wenham, Massachusetts--it's excellent! Meaning, the people there are excellent!!) But I make the effort when I can and pay more for books as a result, and I encourage you to do so in your online shopping, also, if it's your intent to support the independents.

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