An Independent Book Store Looks for Help

I received a letter yesterday that I'll pass along here.  It comes from the current owners of Burke's Book Store, Corey and Cheryl Mesler.  Burke's Book Store has been around since 1875 in the Memphis, TN area, and appears to have been run as a family owned store for just over 100 years.

 

"Dear Burke's customers and friends,

     There is no easy way to say this, no way to sugar coat it.

     Burke's Book Store is in financial trouble.  In short, we are not generating enough revenue to pay our bills.  This stems from a variety of reasons, some of which I am sure you know.  The book business, everywhere, is in trouble.  Sales are down.  Superstores are soaking up every available book dollar from Independents.  And people are shopping online instead of browsing.

     We hear all the time what a time-honored institution Burke's is, how great it is for Memphis to have such a store.  Yet, fewer and fewer people are actually coming through our doors.  We believe, the way I'm sure some of you do, that an independent, locally-owned bookstore is more than just a retail establishment, that it is a vital part of the community.

     We're looking for a way to save our store.  We are looking for people to return to browsing and shopping in the store, to come in and buy a book or two or three.  We can, as always, special order anything you need.  And, while an increase in sales will help, it must be said that right now we need cash in the form of donations.  This is not unprecedented, in the current atmosphere, for an independent bookstore to ask for pledges from the community.  Other stores have been saved this way.  And, for Burke's, we're sorry to say, it has come to that.

     This is our plea for help.  We are hoping for a positive response.

                                            Sincerely,

                                            Corey and Cheryl Mesler

                                            burkes@netten.net"

 

The address for those so inclined is:

Burke's Book Store     1719 Poplar Avenue    Memphis, TN 38104

They can also be reached at:  901-278-7484 or visited at www.burkesbooks.com

While there are four Borders and two Barnes & Nobles that I also frequent that are closer to my home, I also make it a point to drive the extra 15-20 minutes to go to Shaman Drum in Ann Arbor at least once every 6-8 weeks and drop some coins in their tills.  They have readings in the store.  They support the Ann Arbor Book Festival.  They have the largest selection of literary journals in the area by far.  They stock more poetry collections in their little store than any two of the other majors in my area combined. 

It's what independent booksellers do, and I know it's the same down in Memphis, even though I've not set foot in the Mesler's store.  I plan on ordering a few books over the next month through them - the extra postage will have to be my personal "donation" to Burke's, so I'll have to hope the profit on the books I select helps a little bit.  I hope others do what they can afford to do as well.

Comments

[Lhea J. Love]

Wow. I'm glad you shared the letter. As much money as I spend on books (usually at Borders), I should really begin to support independents more...