November 28, 2020 is Small Business Saturday, and we encourage you to celebrate this holiday by supporting your favorite local indie bookstore.
Supporting independently owned, local bookstores is a great way to keep profits in your community, reduce packaging, and reinvest tax dollars back into your public parks, roads, schools, and other services. Beyond this, these brick-and-mortar stores are simply a fun place to buy gifts for fellow bookworms (or yourself), meet your favorite authors during book signings, chat with expert booksellers, and feel at home with the literary community.
If you’re like us, you’ve probably been supporting your local indie bookstores for years. However, with social distancing and health precautions, your support might look a little different this year. Luckily, though—whether you are able to shop in person or not—you can still support these beloved businesses this Saturday by buying items, connecting with the community, or donating money.
Buy
You can support your bookstore with cold hard cash, and there are a number of ways to spend these dollars at your favorite indie bookstores.
1. Buy Gift Cards, Books, or Other Items
Perhaps most obviously, books are the perfect go-to item to buy at your favorite indie bookstore. If you aren’t ready to buy your next book, you can still buy a gift card this Saturday, which provides immediate cashflow for the bookstore. Many bookstores sell gift cards on their online websites, making this a good option if you aren’t able to make it inside the store. The same goes for pre-ordering books at your local bookstore. Plus, both gift cards and pre-orders make great winter holiday gifts!
Most bookstores also sell gift items, such as greeting cards, candles, journals, games, and novelty gifts. You might be able to knock out some of your holiday shopping at your local bookstore.
In light of COVID-19, many bookstores are offering curbside pickup for customers this year. Consider searching the web or calling your bookstore to see if they offer this option. Curbside pickup reduces packaging while still allowing you to take any necessary health precautions.
2. Buy eBooks and Audiobooks
Did you know that you can still shop local when purchasing digital copies of your upcoming reads? To purchase audiobooks, check out libro.fm, a one-stop shop for audiobooks that sends money directly to your chosen bookstore. You can choose from more than 150,000 audiobooks with a monthly membership or pay-as-you-go options. (Insider tip: If you’re currently listening to audiobooks using Amazon’s Audible, use this link for information on how to receive two audiobooks for the price of one when you switch over to libro.fm.)
If you like to read eBooks, try kobo.com. If your bookstore has a partnership with Kobo, you can buy books directly through your bookstore’s online store. If you plan to buy a lot of eBooks, you can save yourself some time by creating a Kobo account through your independent bookstore. By linking your Kobo account to your preferred bookstore, you won’t need to take the time to navigate to the bookstore’s website.
3. Shop Online with bookshop.org or indiebound.org
If you prefer to shop online, check out Bookshop, an online bookstore that supports independent bookstores. When you select a specific bookstore at checkout, 100% of the proceeds will support your preferred bookstore. If you don’t select a specific bookstore, your order will contribute to an earnings pool that will be distributed evenly among independent bookstores. With either Bookshop checkout option, you are keeping the independent bookstore scene alive!
Similar to Bookshop, IndieBound allows customers to enter a zip code to direct profits to their local community bookstores. You can also opt out of including a zip code, which will place your sale into a pool of money that supports the entire network of independent bookstores.
Connect
In addition to buying books, you can support your local bookstore by connecting with its community through events and social media.
1. Attend Virtual Events
Many bookstores are hosting online events in place of their traditional in-person book signings and workshops. Consider browsing your local bookstore’s events calendar and scheduling a time to attend and connect with the community. These virtual opportunities allow bookstores to continue growing their networks and connecting book lovers, even during restrictions on in-person gathering.
2. Follow on Social Media
Following your favorite bookstore on social media is a free, easy way to show your support. (And who doesn’t want reading recommendations and literary news in their social media feed?)
You can take your social media support one step further by tagging your bookstore when you post about new books or attend virtual events to introduce the store to your followers.
Donate
If you’re not in the mood for socializing or shopping this Small Business Saturday, you can still support your local bookstore through donations.
1. Donate to the Binc Foundation
The Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc) assists booksellers during financial emergencies. This year, the foundation launched a campaign to help booksellers affected by the pandemic. You can find the foundation’s website and donation opportunities here.
2. Donate Using GoFundMe
If you’d like to support a specific local bookstore, check to see if they have a GoFundMe campaign. Publisher’s Weekly is maintaining a list of bookstores that are raising emergency funds through GoFundMe here.
