Diane Girard Writes: Survival Against the Odds; The Hardy Charm of The Independent Book Store
by Diane Girard
On Boxing Day here in Ontario, Canada we entered another lockdown due to the increase in COVID 19 cases. Many local businesses in the Kitchener-Waterloo area have folded. Others hang on by wavering threads as the winter winds threaten to break them. Meanwhile, my favourite local independent book store had a very good Christmas season and I hope it will continue to do well. There are several reasons for its success so far.
Words Worth Books Inc. doesn’t have large premises but, it is on the main street in the business section of Waterloo. I’m sure that helps, some of the time. But there have been trials and, of course, tribulations to endure for some years. The street in front of the store was dug up for the installation of electric light rail tracks. Then, lo and behold, a corduroy road* was discovered lurking below the asphalt and had to be carefully, meaning very slowly, removed. So, history intruded and delayed that project. Parking anywhere near the store disappeared and would only reappear on the other side of the street many, many months later. At one point in this construction/deconstruction saga the sidewalk in front of the store was closed so a new one could be poured and store access was hidden in a back lane. Then, there was a partial store closure in the spring caused by COVID 19 and now, another one.
Still, book lovers continue to support the store.
What makes the store a charming and hardy survivor? Its charm is partly due to the physical layout which takes full advantage of the space and partly due to the welcoming atmosphere where books take pride of place. Unlike in chain book stores, fripperies do not abound.
Mostly though, it’s the people who own it and who work in it. They truly care about books and they know books and writers. They make recommendations based on what a customer likes to read and if a book is not in stock, they can order it, swiftly. That’s wonderful but it isn’t all that makes the business work. They have an excellent website they update constantly. They connect frequently with their customers through an email newsletter. They sponsor six book clubs. They have held readings by both famous writers and local writers. And, they care about and support local community organizations and have done so for many years.
Credit for the store’s survival also goes to the customers. I happen to think that this area has more than the average number of inveterate readers of print books. As you might suspect, many are older folk who prefer the delight of possessing a physical book. But younger people also patronize the store. The University of Waterloo and Laurier University are nearby and that may help, too.
I also believe there is a ‘reading culture’ here which contributes to the success of the book store. For instance, the renovated and expanded main library in Kitchener received financial support from the city and from many local sponsors. It’s a glorious addition to our downtown. Every morning when it was fully accessible, there were folk waiting for the doors to open. And, every year, there is a One Book, One Community event. The featured book is always available at Words Worth Books as well as at the library. When Margaret Atwood, the Canadian literary superstar, came to speak at the Kitchener library’s large theatre/auditorium, the house was full to bursting. Other authors get good audiences and book sales too.
The Kitchener-Waterloo area has been called Canada’s Silicon Valley. There are lots of start-up tech companies here and Google is here, too. Fortunately, some younger folk still choose to read print. Maybe they need an escape from the omnivorous online multiverse. Recently I saw a young man with the latest cell phone reading a hardcover book on the bus and later, I saw him enter Words Worth Books. I hope there are many more folk like him, and I hope that my favourite book store will be around to sustain them.
I suggest that when you buy books, you purchase them from your local independent book store. Then, you can relish the good-citizen feeling of supporting a local business and delight in opening the fresh pages of a new book. Talk about instant rewards! There they are. I recommend you reward yourself early and often. I certainly will.
©Diane Girard for SeniorWomen.com
*Corduroy roads are a series of logs laid parallel across a roadbed to allow passage of wagons, horses, or foot traffic through usually muddy or wet areas to prevent them from getting bogged down. It is an old technology that the military primarily utilized here in Virginia as an expedient means to improve rudimentary roads during the 19th century and possibly even the 18th century. It is likely that this method was used during the early colonial years of Virginia settlement when roads were quite primitive. The logs, when laid down in a linear pattern, resemble corduroy fabric, hence the name. These are different from “plank roads” constructed, as the name implies, of flat boards — historically a more common method of road construction throughout Virginia.
Facebook Words Worth website in Waterloo
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