NEWS ANALYSIS: Area bookstore owners aren't on the same page

Independent booksellers view competition as a double-edged sword. In the recent debate over whether Penn should help the new Barnes & Noble bookstore adapt to the area -- even at the expense of independent area bookstores -- the gulf between those who favor increased competition and those who prefer the status quo remains as wide as the Schuylkill. The parties disagree on several fundamental issues, including the benefits of competition, the importance of customer service and the proper role of book stores in an academic community. Much of the disagreement stems from the different objectives of the stores' owners. The owners of the independent bookstores claim their small size allows them to build close relationships with customers, enriching the intellectual atmosphere of the University. Officials from the Barnes & Noble-run Book Store, by contrast, say the superstore will aim to provide the convenience of a single location for all course books. The debate intensified last week, when University Council overwhelmingly rejected a recommendation by one of its own advisory boards suggesting that all professors post their reading lists on the Internet. The proposal would have allowed all of the stores to sell books for every University course, rather than just books ordered by certain professors. But the independent bookstore owners argue that they don't have the resources to compete with a store as large as Barnes & Noble, and stress that their value to the community extends far beyond a simple issue of convenience. "It's not just a matter of giving a list of books," House Of Our Own owner Deborah Sanford said. "It's a matter of doing research on the books, which [often] turns up new editions. "The notion that now we just go to the Web and lift off the information is a complete impossibility," Sanford added. Her store does not have the storage capacity to carry books for every University course or the financial resources to pay return fees on large numbers of unsold books, she said. Larger stores have the cash reserves necessary to accommodate the returns. Council's advisory board "meant well," said Penn Book Center owner Achilles Nickles. "But when you think how it would work out, it would probably be a big handicap for us, [because] we're limited by space and by cash flow." Barnes & Noble officials responded that they are not concerned about the ability of the smaller stores to compete with their store, adding that they have no qualms about trying to win over the professors and students who currently patronize the independents. Book Store Director Michael Knezic said his Barnes & Noble employees go "knocking on doors, visiting faculty and talking with deans and administrators" to find out why they haven't submitted book orders to The Book Store. "You're trying to get feedback," Knezic said, to get "a sense of why the order has not been going to the University bookstore -- I mean, we are the University bookstore." The store has no policy limiting its orders to books requested specifically by professors, and is willing to order from any book list it comes across, he added. Price competition already exists in at least two classes. Books for Social Work 601 and 603 are stocked by both House Of Our Own and The Book Store. In both cases, House Our Own offers cheaper prices on new books, while The Book Store offers even cheaper prices on a more limited number of used books. The three books in Social Work 601 total $67.95 at House Of Our Own and $71.70 at The Book Store, which offers them used for $53.75. The five books in Social Work 603 total $96.35 at House Of Our Own and $101.65 at The Book Store, where used-book prices add up to $76.20. But independent book store owners said they consider customer service to be more important than price. "There's an enormous amount of unseen work that goes into [ordering books]," Sanford said. "It even involves tracking individual books for individual students." Knezic responds that although "the personalization may be different because of our size, that doesn't mean the service isn't there." For example, The Book Store provides all its professors with their book order forms from the previous semester. If their order is the same, they need only check a box to reorder the books. And when a book needs to be reordered, the professor is always called, Knezic said. Another advantage cited by the independent store owners is that they keep books on the shelves longer. "We keep our books for the classes for a long time -- close to the end of the term," Nickles said. Book Store officials said their return time depends on the publisher of a specific book and ranges from 30 days to six months after the time of order. Sanford said the University's commitment to seeing the independent stores survive is merely rhetorical. "[University officials] seem to be saying they value these things in the community? [but] I think their commitment to seeing The Book Store succeed is paramount," she said.

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