From BT | A | Works — Independent and Chain Bookstores (and Public Libraries) in the City of Vancouver

Click the image for the interactive map of Independent and Chain Bookstores Stores with Public Libraries in the City of Vancouver.

With Frances Bula’s recent Vancouver magazine article on the City’s bookstore scene, she looks at the various reasons behind Vancouver’s lack of a large independent destination flagship bookstore like Powell’s Books in Portland, Elliot Bay Books in Seattle, Strand Books in New York City. or Munro’s Books in Victoria. She also looks at the overall challenges of operating an independent bookstore in the City of Vancouver and what does it take to survive and thrive in a changing climate of shifting reading habits, disruptive technologies, and ever increasing retail rents. The answers seems to be hinged on a tale of entrepreneurial guile, a mixture of specialization and co-marketing/merchandising, customer service and a dose of luck with real estate. While there are many aspects of a Murder/Mystery when it comes to the fate of the independent bookstore (RIP Duthie’s) in the City of Vancouver, independent bookstores seem to best succeed when they pick a tone and a niche in the 50 shades of grey in the City’s population of readers and booklovers.BT | A | Works » Flotillas, Not Flagships: Independent and Chain Bookstores (and Public Libraries) in the City of Vancouver