As I have mentioned in an earlier post, I get to hear a lot of conversations in the bookshop from my spot behind the magazine rack (which, again, is much nicer than it may sound). The most recent question that got my attention was a man pointing to our IndieBound door sticker (I assume, the door sticker. It could have been our sign near the register, or the Eat Sleep Read poster. It's not a see-through magazine rack, so much is left to my imagination), asking his companion "What the heck is IndieBound?"
As booksellers, it seems as though we talk about it a lot. We have our posters, and window clings, and all kinds of great IndieBound swag in the bookshops, (at Next Chapter we have tote bags, bookmarks and journals for sale that are IndieBound related). We feature Indie Next Picks every month in the bookshop and sometimes link to IndieBound in our weekly email newsletter. If you have visited our new website you have probably seen some links to IndieBound picks and information there too. But, for all the linking and poster hanging we do, we might not have ever actually explained what the heck it is and what it means when we tell you "This book was an August Indie Next pick!" So, though I am by no means an expert, I'll do my best to tell you a little more about it and how you can use it.
Some of you might remember the American Bookseller's Association program, BookSense. Well, the short and sweet explanation is that IndieBound is the new BookSense. (Read more about the switch here.) Just like the old program, IndieBound collects book recommendations from independent booksellers across the country and uses them to create what is now called the Indie Next List. (Our buyer, Dave, has a recommendation in the current list for Pete Dexter's new book, Spooner.) They also have the Kids' Next List (where Next Chapter bookseller Betsy has a pick), and a list for book clubs. We and many other indie booksellers feature the picks in our store every month and have the Indie Next List print newsletter in our store for you to read and take home.
So, the lists link readers around country to great new reads recommended by independent booksellers from around the country, but there are also a few new ways IndieBound links books to readers and readers to booksellers. Say you're on vacation far away from Next Chapter and you want to find a good indie bookshop. If you have internet access, go to indiebound.org and use their bookshop locator map. If you have an iPhone then--lucky you--you can use the free indiebound app that tells you where the closest indie store is and gives you tons of other useful book-y information. Because their mission is about supporting independent, locally owned businesses, you'll also find information about indie bike shops, movie theaters, hardware stores--all kinds of businesses--through the online locator or indiebound app. When we were in New York for BEA back in May, Lanora had a lot of fun playing with it to find restaurants and other places to check out. If you use Twitter (and by the way if you do, you can follow Lanora) you can ask indie booksellers questions by using the hashtag #askindies. Or, just read about what people are asking and answering on the indiebound site. It's a quick, easy way to see what indie booksellers and readers are talking about and I think it's a neat way for booksellers to interact with all kinds of readers from all over the world.
There really is a lot more for you to check out on www.indiebound.org and in the IndieBound Community, and I hope you go see what there is to see. But for those who were simply wondering, as our Voice from Beyond the Mag Rack was, what the heck IndieBound is and why we have so many things in the bookshop that have the logo on them, I hope this helped provide a little insight as to what it's all about. The main thing to remember when you see the IndieBound logo in our store or any other bookstore's window is that it means shopping there supports local businesses--and chances are there are some really cool, knowledgeable booksellers inside who are happy to help you find your next favorite read.
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