This morning I woke up eager to feed my summer reading appetite. Harrisonburg is the proud owner of three bookstores. Two of these, howerver, are “new” bookstores (Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million) complete with competing coffee house chains (Starbucks in the B&N and Joe Muggs in B-A-M).
However, Downtown Books sits cozily next to the quaint barbershop where I go to get a haircut and local gossip. I can’t say that I’ve ever been impressed by the store. Out front are boxes of obviously abandoned/worthless books with hand-made “Free Books” signs on each one. The 1956 American Annual was interesting, but of no use to me.
I wandered inside, and I found a cluttered, disorganized, cramped bookstore. Many of the books, outdated VHS tapes, and novelty cards could have been removed for a more functional store that could elicit attraction from those passing by. After about ten minutes of franticly searching for a pattern to the shelving, I ended up running into the proprietor, a very large man dressed in the uniform of a man who enjoys blending into the background of life. He was surrounded by books. I conciously looked for an entrance or exit from his small, self-built cubicle, but found none. His ability to enter and leave this tiny area was lost on me.
After finding a section that seemed to be the “classic sellers” corner, I found about 9 books I would love to complete, including “Nothing But Blue Skies” by Thomas McGuane, an author I’ve recently come to love. I scooped up what intrigued me, and plucked “Wuthering Heights” for Tory.
I found a small opening in the owner’s literary castle, and asked how much the bundle would cost. To amazement, he scanned the back of some of the books which had probably been on the shelf for a few years, and quoted the cover price. Disgusting. I was able to nab a three books for cheap, but still paid cover price for Tory’s selection.
Here’s where things get interesting. Leaving the store I noticed the owner put a postcard in my 80s-era copy of “The Sun Also Rises” by Ernest Hemmingway. On it read “Downtown Books” in a tacky, 80s font, and then with regular pirate flair, it pronounced “Read or Die!” with the appropriate skeletal companion.
This was not the book store they claimed to be.
With Harrisonburg’s sudden art-scene revival, thriving underground community, and increasingly vibrant group of downtown locations, they’re obviously attempting to tap into this growth; and failing.
The disconnect between the up-beat, hippie tinged, bartering bookstore their connections with the public portray themselves as, and the mis-managed, horribly priced bookstore they are.
It is imperative that in our generation we make sure that our the themes we portray are honest representations of the people or brand goals in the company they portray. Successful companies that are built on themes and beliefs (Teach For America, Apple, Google, etc) are concious of this theme-storefront connection.
I admit that my experience today is a small one, but the storefront must be able to be obvious connected to the public images in front of people who have never experienced the company.
I think Downtown Books has a fine public face, but the storefront needs work. This is an easy lesson to constantly keep in the front of your head.
-W. Thomas Webb
