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I used to work at an independent bookstore "in the olden days" before the internet. One of the functions of our bookstore was to come up with the title of a book you had heard about but couldn't quite remember. We would get all the staff members together to brainstorm and we loved doing this.
When B&N opened right by Shakespeare & Co on the upper west side in NYC, a famous story went around. A customer went in to B&N with a usual request: "I heard about this book on NPR, what is it called?" The bookstore attendant couldn't come up with the name. She said, "why don't you go to Shakespeare & Co, ask them for the name of the book, and come back here and buy it at a discount?"
Well now you would just google for the book, Shakespeare & Co closed that location many years ago, and B&N is in trouble.
Now I live in a neighborhood that is famous for having a lot of kids. Our local B&N serves a different function: kids playspace. The nannies take the kids there, read a lot of books, leave them on the floor, and don't buy anything. I admit I have done this with my daughter many times, but we always make a point to put the books back where they came from, we often get a treat for her and a coffee for me in the cafe, and once in a while we buy a kids book or something else like greeting cards. My daughter LOVES the bookstore and I would be sad indeed if we didn't have it.
eP
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