My husband jokes that we live on the North Coast (sounds more impressive than the Niagara Frontier) and he’s right. On a clear evening we can walk down to the shore of Lake Ontario and see the CN Tower in Toronto as the sun sets. So I guess Laredo, Texas would be on the South Coast. Perched on the banks of the Rio Grande River, Laredo, the “Gateway to Mexico”, is connected by bridge to Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. It has a population of about 250,000 (94% Hispanic), a thriving international trade, and one of the fastest growing populations in the country but last year it didn’t have a bookstore. Not one single bookstore in the city limits.
You might wonder why I, cape crusader of the library, care...after all isn’t the reason we have the library is to get books? And aren’t libraries and bookstores in competition? Well, yes and no.
Five pro-bookstore arguments come to mind.
--It can be very competitive to check popular books out of the library, they come in and woosh, they’re gone. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that patrons use their librarian ‘connections’ to what they want. Maybe a shiny, red apple exchanges hands or a favor get called in and there goes the bestseller. I would have delivered a bushel of apples for the third Harry Potter, when it first came out, but alas, I had not paid enough attention to my relationship with the librarian and the shelf was bare. I headed to Barnes & Noble.
--New books can show up on library shelves speedy quick or not at all. It depends on a lot of factors: what kind of book is it? did the library order it in advance? does the library have any money to order it right now? and is it in the system but not at your branch? I have a hard time with this one because of my impulsive nature when it comes to new books and also because I love to listen to audiobooks when I drive. This means waiting for the audiobook to come out and then waiting for library to get it. I used up the patience of a saint while waiting for “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest” to come out on cd.
--The library is not always open when you need to read or get a book. If the desire comes on late at night, or, heaven forbid, on a Sunday you could be out of luck. In this case a bookstore is a good substitute. Like the library, it can be a beautiful places to spend the afternoon and sip cappuchino (and there is no law that says you have to buy the book).
--When I lived in Rhode Island, Island Books was my go-to gift shop. I could absolutely, positively guarantee that I would find the perfect book to give anyone, from their first day on the planet to their 100th year. Booksellers choose particular books based on their great wisdom, intimate knowledge of books and keen understanding of what sells. They do not have an obligation to stock ALL books, they just need to sort through the chaff and come up with the golden seed that we all want to buy. (by the way, a book they are currently recommending is Swamplandia! by Karen Russell)
--Some books can not be borrowed and returned to the library. These are the books that require copious notes in the margin, dog-earred pages to come back to, highlighting and underlining. Once in a while there are books that you want to keep. I know we really want to keep them ALL but as a recovering book hoarder, I recommend that you just keep the ones that are special. My most marked up book is Eat, Love, Pray by Elizabeth Gilbert. I took it everywhere for about a year and now it looks like something the cat dragged in and the dog chewed. I love it even more. I have checked out the audiobook from the library several times.
What about those people who suggest that bookstores are obsolete thanks to Amazon and their ilk? Sometimes ordering books online is a great solution (for instance; ordering books for college or buying a copy of a book you already have), however there are a few problems with the online theory. Firstly, you can’t touch the books, smell them, feel their weight in your hands and flip through the pages. Physically connecting with a book is important. Secondly, not everyone has a computer and a connection to get online (unless they go to the library!). And most importantly, when you shop online, for anything, you pretty much eliminate the browsing and trying on stages of the purchase. Amazon will make recommendations but it’s not the same as scanning the rows of books about knitting or running until you find the perfect one that you didn’t even know existed. Or getting reeled in by a display of books on travel in China, even though you don’t like leaving the neighborhood. These are magical book moments that can only happen in the bookstore or library.
Now I have rambled on about bookstores for so long that I have no time to tell you the story about Laredo (if I don’t get a good sleep I will be too cranky for 4th grade tomorrow). Come back and I’ll fill you in.
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