Coronavirus is latest chapter for bookstores

PROVIDENCE — Madeline Rozanksi pulled into the parking lot of Books on the Square in Providence on Friday and drove away with a new book — all without having to take a step outside her car.

Instead, an employee brought the book to her.

“I wanted to support a local business,” said Rozanski, who’s trying to protect her immune-compromised boyfriend from the coronavirus. “I could have ordered this on Amazon, but when I saw the bookstore was doing this, I said, ’I’d rather give them my money.’”

Independent booksellers across the state are trying to adapt to a changing world, where community and author events that have long been the hallmark of local bookstores are now restricted by public health officials trying to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Still, bookstores like Books on the Square are working to keep business flowing by transitioning to online selling and trying to preserve their local touch, even if they can’t have a physical storefront.

“I think the hardest thing for bookstores across the country is that we’ve worked so hard to build this reputation as community spaces,” said Annie Philbrick, owner of the Savoy Bookshop and Cafe in Westerly and Bank Square Books in Mystic, Conn. “To shut down and operate in virtual reality, it’s pretty dire.”

Philbrick closed both her stores last Monday even though business was strong. There were too many people in the shops, and she worried it was becoming a public health hazard. She had to furlough 32 employees.

Philbrick’s bookstores have also had to cancel events — mostly author readings — through the end of April. Her stores coordinated more than 300 events last year, a principal source of revenue.

“That’s what bookstores do for the community — support these authors, let people get to know them, let them read,” said Philbrick. “Amazon doesn’t do that.”

Other bookshops, although they’ve been forced to cancel events and close storefronts, still want to keep fostering community by moving author readings online.

Twenty Stories, a bookstore and mobile book van business in Providence, canceled a reading last Friday, then moved it online to Instagram Live. Over 100 people tuned in on the app, more than three times the number they could have fit in their store.

“I think it’s still possible to stay in touch with your community during this time, but whether or not that will translate into sales, I guess, is the question,” said Alexa Trembly, who co-owns the store with Emory Harkins. Trembly said that usually they sell 30 to 40 books at each in-person author event, but that there hadn’t been a noticeable increase in sales from the Instagram Live reading.

At Paper Nautilus, a used bookstore in Providence, owner Kristin Sollenberger said that she was going to try to sell more books online through Amazon, but still had to lay off two part-time employees.

“There’s stuff you don’t know even exists in here,” said Sollenberger. “And you can’t find it without looking.”

She has a box of gloves and a bottle of hand sanitizer at the door for customers who wander in, but even after being in business for 24 years, Sollenberger said this might be her biggest challenge yet.

Still, even as the COVID-19 pandemic prevents bookstores from acting as a gathering space for the community, many booksellers said loyal customers would continue to support them.

“I feel the support of the community that we have around our shop, and it’s growing,” said Trembly. “Even though it’s a scary time, a lot of great things come out of hardship. The support helps us keep going.”

Philbrick is also on the executive board for the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, a nonprofit based in Michigan that seeks to provide a safety net for booksellers who have lost their job or have an unexpected expense.

Philbrick said that in the past week, the foundation raised over $700,000 and had more requests for assistance from booksellers in five days than in the last year.

Philbrick first learned about the foundation when her bookstore in Mystic, Connecticut, was flooded by Superstorm Sandy in 2012. The community came together to help her move books and renovate the space. She reopened three weeks later.

“The storm came, and the storm left,” said Philbrick. “We had damage, but that damage was concrete in front of us. We knew we would reopen again.

“Sandy was more tangible. This time, it’s really hard to see the end. It’s just different.”

At Books on theSquare, store manager Jennifer Kandarian listened nervously Friday as Gov. Gina Raimondo’s daily press briefing played out over the sound system. The store was empty.

“If we shelter in place, all of my employees have no income,” said Kandarian. “That’s the reality. They have to plan for their own futures.

“We have a dozen people we’re worrying about. If we can stay open, we can keep the staff on reduced hours instead of saying, ‘Everybody, get out of here.’”

To donate the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, go to bincfoundation.org/donate or call (866) 733-9064.