July 21, 2004

Bookstore survival from the Tucson Citizen
It ain't easy keeping an independent bookstore open. With the state of the economy and the corporation big boys hovering on the landscape, just surviving is an accomplishment.
Finding a niche, a speciality, is the key for independent bookstores, according to several store owners in Tucson.

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Biblio, which will be 2 years old in October, specializes in poetry, cultural studies, music, film, graphic novels and eclectic fiction, and it offers no bestsellers.
"Because we don't stock bestselling authors, we have room for new, different interesting stuff," Goldston said. "A lot of people come in here and want to talk about books. We enjoy that kind of intimacy with customers. The store has a community-based ethic to it."

Most independent bookstores do the same, wherever they are. Find the independent bookstore nearest you, and frequent them often.

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