Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1031255
22 | FALL 2018 T o say the retail landscape has changed in the past two decades would be an understatement. With the advent of online shopping, many brick-and-mortar powerhouses have gone out of business or moved to online retail — see Toys R Us and Borders for just a few examples. But there's one category of store that's actually thriving: the independent bookstore. It's a surprising trajectory. Community bookstores were in trouble when megastores Barnes & Noble and Borders came to town. Add e-books and Amazon — with its competitively priced titles that arrive at your doorstep — and it seemed like mom-and-pop booksellers were headed straight to relic status. Yet somehow, from 2009 to 2015, the number of independent bookstores climbed 35 percent, from 1,651 stores to 2,227. That caught the attention of Harvard Business School professor Ryan Raffaelli. After hundreds of interviews and focus groups, 90-plus hours of observation and fi eld trips to bookstores in 13 states, he determined that success comes down to three factors: 1. Community: Independent booksellers were among the fi rst businesses to promote the idea of shopping locally to create a strong local economy. 2. Curation: Small bookstores offer a personalized experience to hand-sell each book. 3. Convening: Bookstores have become gathering places and hosts to all kinds of events, from children's birthday parties to game nights to writers' groups. Of those 2,227 bookstores scattered across the country, here are a handful that exemplify these three key traits — and are worth visiting. Photograghy: Scott McDaniel, Andres de la Casa Huertas