Borders

I've always written these blog entries myself, but today's is a re-posting of the American Booksellers Association's statement regarding Borders. It is not all that long and is a statement we feel is important for our customers to read. Please take the time to read it. (To go directly to the statement, go to: http://news.bookweb.org/news/aba-statement-borders%E2%80%99-bankruptcy-filing )

ABA Statement on Borders’ Bankruptcy Filing
Created 02/16/2011 - 2:59pm
In response to the news on Wednesday, February 16, that Borders Group Inc. had filed for Chapter 11 protection and will close about 30 percent of its stores nationwide in the coming weeks, the American Booksellers Association issued the following statement:

Though Borders is not a member of the American Booksellers Association, we are always saddened when any bookstore closes. The industry – whether independent bookstores, publishers, or readers – does not benefit from the diminishment of places to browse, discover, and buy books.

However, despite the doom and gloom expressed by some about the future of full-service bricks-and-mortar bookstores – and, while we don’t underestimate the challenges that lie ahead – ABA believes that the indie bookstore model is well positioned for the future.

ABA membership numbers have stabilized; the vast majority of ABA members are coming off the best holiday season they have had in years; and, we’ve partnered with Google to allow our members to offer e-books through their websites.

As book buyers and readers are facing a skyrocketing number of books vying for their attention – with more and more demands on their time – our members’ customers are telling us that, now more than ever, they appreciate the care independent stores take in choosing the titles to stock, and that the curated selection in our stores can’t be found elsewhere.

In addition, more and more consumers appreciate the fact that our members are locally owned and have long-standing and close ties to their communities. They understand that by shopping in an independent store they are making sure that far more of their spending dollars recirculate back into the community. Shopping locally supports the small businesses that are creating jobs, directly fuels local growth, and helps preserve the special things that make each American community unique.

Looking ahead, we know that indie stores will have to continue to work hard and stay nimble and innovative. No matter what may appear in the headlines today, and understanding that the circumstances leading to the current situation facing Borders is very different than those of independents, we believe that our members will continue to offer their customers a unique shopping experience they can’t find anywhere else.


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Media questions should be addressed to ABA Membership and Marketing Officer Meg Smith [1].

A Lovely V-Day Gift

This past Valentine’s Day, I had one of the loveliest V-Day moments I’ve ever had. Tom and I gave Megan, our 9 year old daughter, a card that did not have any hearts on it. Nor did it have cute animals or sparkles. It was a bookmark card. The quote inside the card (and on the attached bookmark) was one from Barack Obama, who Megan has been very interested in this school year: We are all meant to shine. For those of you who know my daughter, you know this was the perfect card for her even though it lacked hearts, cute animals, or sparkles. It didn’t even contain the words “Happy Valentine’s Day”. When Megan opened the card, she read the quote, then read who supplied the quote and her face lit up, “Barack Obama!” But here’s the part I love – the part I hope I remember to my dying day, “Barack Obama wrote this for my Valentine’s Day card??” Oh, love! How incredible that she would even entertain that thought. It’s true that kids are, by nature, self-absorbed, but I’ve seen so many children with so little self esteem. Not this kid. Love starts with the self and by golly, I think she nailed it.

How I Met You (sort of)

It’s no secret that I am a Facebook junkie. I do spend some time there promoting Beagle Books and keeping up with community events. But sometimes, I’m just plain goofing off. I was delighted last Friday to log on to Facebook and see the following post from my friend, Angela:
Angela Scaletta wants you to comment on this status about how you met me. But I want you to lie. That's right. Just make stuff up. After you comment, copy to your status so I can do the same. Bonus points for creativity!
Right away, my wheels started spinning – what’s the most outlandish thing I can come up with??? Throughout the day, I read (and laughed) my way through my friends tales of how we all met. We were being silly, goofing off for sure, but we were also engaging in one of my favorite things in life: storytelling.
Here’s some of the stories I told:
For Angela (who got me started on this): It still makes me tear up when I think about that day I was mountain climbing, slipped, and you broke my 1500 foot fall. What a gem you are. Anyone else would have stepped to the side and pretended not to notice me, but not you. I feel guilty however that you spent the rest of your honeymoon in the hospital. I owe you, really.
Another of Angela’s friends, Amy B, was typing at the same time I was, but she hit enter a moment after I did. Her story is better than mine and I’ve never been trumped so fast. Here’s Amy B’s: It was circus camp. I fell off the tightrope and landed on the lion, whose mouth you had just stuck your head into. When I say that nobody would ever know that your left ear is a prosthetic, it's not the guilt talking. I really mean it.
For a friend who has a daughter the same age as mine: I was canoeing on a river one day and heard this incredibly beautiful yodeling up around the bend. Of course, when I came around the bend (we all do at some point), there you were with your Nude Harmonica & Yodeling club, practicing for a performance at the Annual Talent Contest. I stopped to chat and well...we've been friends every since.
For an artist friend: We both tried out for the lead role in Madame Bovary. We sang so bad we were bounced out the back door into an alley. That wouldn't have been so bad except for the mentally-impaired gentleman who had gone off his meds got the urge to knife us. Even though you were wounded (both emotionally and physically), you fought him off, subdued him, then dragged him to the hospital and using his knife, pinned him to the wall of the ER lobby. It was so incredible, I couldn't resist forming a friendship with you :)
For a co-worker of my husband’s: Good grief, how many years has it been now since that comet hit the ice in front of me at the fishing derby, I fell in the hole it created, and you fished me out of the icy waters?? Everyone else kept their head down, eyes on their holes, with visions of new pick-up trucks on their minds, but not you. You just handed your pole to [your daughter] Sam and saved my life. Thanks ;)
For a former babysitter (all grown up now!): I was down in the Amazon rain forest, collecting bugs. I was knocked unconscious when something hit me in the head. Turns out it was your water bottle - you dropped it from the rope bridge you were crossing above me. We've been friends ever since! :)
For a friend in the medical field: We were both on that chain gang up in Baudette. I wanted to make a break for it and swim to Canada, but you pointed out that the last guy in our gang would probably drown because he couldn't swim. Thank goodness you saved me from murder! Now I'll only be in prison for 20 years, rather than life, whew!
I’ve saved the best for last. This tall tale was written by my friend Angela Scaletta: I was touring the west coast with my flea circus, you kept playing the same venues the next night with your flock of plate-spinning poodles. It took you years to figure out the source of the infestation that ended your act (hard to keep those plates spinning when you have to scratch all. the. time.) but by that time you already owed me over a quarter-million dollars from your Jello mold competition betting losses.
What stories do YOU have??

The Trifecta

The third Thursday of the month, Park Rapids downtown businesses host a variety of artists for Arts Downtown. Typically, Beagle Books participates in this, but in January, we took the month off. This meant that for the first time, I was able to attend Arts Downtown rather than act as a hostess. Since I rarely get the chance to see our friends Deane Johnson and Jennie Anderson perform with their quintet, I opted to sit in on the quintet’s set at Bella Caffe, along with my 9-year old, music-loving daughter. We had a marvelous time. The quintet performed in Bella’s solarium, which made the set an intimate experience. We sat so close to the musicians we could practically touch them (and we weren’t even the closest). When we climbed the steps to the solarium, Megan spotted one of Beagle’s regular customers, Mike, and his wife, Jacque. Without hesitation, Megan bounded over and asked if we could join them. We ate Bella’s beer cheese soup, chatted with people around us, and thoroughly enjoyed the music. The quintet included a bassoon player. Megan had never seen nor heard a bassoon, so it was fun to witness her new music experience. Other children were in attendance so the quintet played a number of “kid-friendly” pieces such as the theme from Pink Panther and The Teddy Bear Picnic. They also performed a Magic Flute piece (my favorite of the night) and an arrangement of Fiddler on the Roof songs (Megan LOVES Fiddler on the Roof). When the 45 minute set was over, Megan asked, “That’s it?” We bundled ourselves into our coats, hats, and mittens. We shuffled out to our car in -20 temps and headed home. Later, I thought about what had made it such a wonderful evening. Was it the music? The food? The relaxed and friendly atmosphere? It was all those things, but the really impactful thing for me was the sense of community. We were in a familiar, cozy setting with people we knew. We didn’t know every person in the room, but we did know most of them. Here we were, in a small town in northern Minnesota on a cold night in January. We chose to leave our warm homes, televisions, computers, and all the rest (well ok, probably most of us had our cell phones with us) to treat ourselves. How fortunate am I that I live in the country – and I do mean the country, more mornings than not I see deer cross my path as I drive up the driveway, yet I can spend an evening enjoying music and sharing that experience with other people. I could imagine people all over the world, in all sorts of communities, coming together to share music. As far as I know, every culture has enjoyed music as a community event. What else is universal to all communities, I wondered. The obvious came to mind first: food. We love to feast, to share together in a meal. Stories. How long have people shared stories? We are fortunate, to my way of thinking, to have written stories, but there is something special about stories shared verbally. We cherish those who possess storytelling skills. Music, food, stories. Hey, if that’s the trifecta, then I have the trifecta right in my own home. (Megan = music, Tom = food, Jen = stories). But to share those things with my community, that’s where the wonderful really fills my soul.