Went and had a browse in the Perth Borders shop last week. When the shop first opened some weeks ago, it seemed like a Very Big Deal and for the first couple of weeks at least, it was always packed. I guess the novelty’s worn off a bit now, because the super large crowds have dissipated.
There were still quite a few people in the shop when I was there, though. I saw the odd child sprawled on the floor, reading, people sitting near the graphic novels section reading graphic novels from cover to cover, other people perusing the extensive magazine selection, and generally quite a few people around the shop reading things in various other sections.
Someone (not a librarian) I was chatting to about the shop the other day said that it was ‘friendly’ and ‘welcoming’ and she liked it because she felt she could take her time browsing there. It was ‘just like a library, except without the photocopiers’, she added. (I’m not sure whether the comment about the library was just added on for my benefit…)
On the ACRL (Association of College and Research Libraries) blog Barbara Fister points to an article in the New York Times which remarks on the fact that Borders “is losing money rather faster than expected” because people are not buying as much as the company would like them to. Citing a 1905 speech, Barbara remarks that libraries have always recognised the fact that our users appreciate having a pleasant and “hospitable book-lined social space” to visit, pick up a book or two, and meet with others. Attracting new users will always be challenging for libraries, though!
No matter how friendly Borders (or any other shop) is, ultimately they are not there to just be friendly to their customers - they are there to make a sale. And what will they do, when potential customers are more interested in spending time there, and not money? Send these non-customers to a library?
The picture is from Flickr, posted by its creator under a Creative Commons license. Click on the picture itself to read more about the context it was taken in, or to find out more about the photographer.
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July 26, 2006 at 08:47
actually bookshops and libraries have different markets dont they? very interesting discussion going on over at the good library blog about public libraries in england…people have been deserting the services in droves because the book stock has been declining over the years…i know myself if i had the money id be buying at borders rather than waiting six months at the library for the latest bestsellers because of all the reserves on them…
July 26, 2006 at 10:19
There are those in the marketing world who are constantly reminding us that libraries have a thing or two to learn from bookshops and other retailers. Shelving books face outwards, for example, using their signage methods and so on … and using our customer databases - but that’s another story!!
What are we doing to copy Borders?
July 26, 2006 at 13:06
I recall from my public days, that the hold queues for each of the Harry Potter books were always in triple figures. This was despite there being 10 copies of each available. At 3 weeks per copy, that meant a wait of over a year. Those that could afford to buy their own books did, and those that couldn’t, waited for their number to come up. The library later introduced a charge on reserves (a couple of bucks) and the queues dropped to almost zero IIRC.
July 27, 2006 at 09:41
To copy Borders? Hmmhmm, how about setting up a cafe at libraries (like some of the public libraries in Singapore) Awesome!