“Books, inherently, require faith. Faith in an author that he or she will reward the many hours you’ll spend in those pages, faith that a good story will be told, a lesson will be learned, a light will be shone upon a dim corner of the world."—author Dave Eggers

And independent booksellers are an optimistic lot by nature. This time 17 years ago, we were working hard with a group of friends to create a new space for bookselling in Washington, DC. We planned to specialize in international politics, world literature and African American studies. We wanted anyone, no matter their heritage, to walk in off the street and see themselves reflected on the shelves of our store. We planned to host events, welcoming established and emerging authors.

A Little History
The DC area’s well educated population has long made it hospitable to booksellers. But the 1990s began to bring changes and closures as the big-box stores arrived, along with the home-grown Crown Books supersizing their stores. A shake-out followed.

But now the survivors of that shake-out are falling. Just in the past year the DC area lost:

• A Likely Story Bookstore, a beloved children’s bookshop
• Chapters Literary Bookstore suspended business, but hopes to make a comeback
• Karibu Books, offering books by and for people of African descent
• Candida’s World of Books
• Olsson’s has said good-bye most recently.

Local Ownership vs. Chains or Online Merchants
To those folks who consider yourselves committed to locally owned retail, yet find yourselves shopping at chains and online with greater frequency: we urge you to support your local independent businesses more regularly. Where you spend your money affects the world in which you live. For every $10 you spend at locally owned businesses, $4.50 stays in our community. The math is simple and compelling:
Vertigo Books         $4.50
Barnes & Noble/Borders/Costco     $1.30
Amazon             $0.00
The money you spend with us continues to circulate as we pay employees, buy supplies and pay taxes that are used to provide basic services to residents. Yes, the internet is essential and awfully easy, but if you value real communities, you’ve got to support local businesses regularly in order to keep them in business.

Creating Community: Buy Local
This means, if possible, shop locally first. Our failure to do so will only lead to greater homogenization of towns: Tempe AZ looks like Loudon VA looks like…One town center blurs into the next. Locally owned, independent businesses play a vital role in contributing to communities’ sense of place and identity, reflecting the character and values of their customers.

We are always pleased and secretly proud when customers bring in their family and friends from out of town and proclaim, “This is our bookstore.” Whether you need help choosing a new mystery to read or wish to discuss the relative merits of Russian translators, with our unique selection and personalized, friendly service, we offer a community-based alternative to the huge corporate superstores while providing exceptional value. For half the cost of a movie ticket, you can pick up a great sale book and read for hours.

Please vote with your dollars now if you value our local economy and this store.