Help Davis Get a Bookstore!

[elfword.livejournal.com]

Davis Square hasn't had a bookstore since McIntyre & Moore moved out almost a year ago. I and a group of others are sharing ideas, connections, and effort to try and bring a bookstore to Davis Square.

If you're a fellow book-lover that'd like to see an indie bookstore (with a sizable used books section) make its home in Davis, you should come to our first meetup, this upcoming Monday (3/22) at 7:00 PM, in Blue Shirt Cafe. We'll have a sign on a table or two announcing who we are.

For more info, or to show someone you think would be interested, please check out: http://bit.ly/davisbookstore

As the site says, two of our top priorities are:

1. Finding a bookstore starter (someone that can open a bookstore, a current bookstore owner that wants to expand or move, or a chain) and convincing them.
2. Helping a bookstore starter get the resources they need to open a bookstore (capital, location, inventory).

If you have any ideas about either of these, please comment!

Comments

[smoterh.livejournal.com]

Porter Square Books is almost exactly half a mile from the center for Davis Square. It's not really in Davis, but I wouldn't argue that our community lacks a bookstore.

[elfword.livejournal.com]

It's a half mile that makes a big difference to the West Somerville / West Medford / Tufts / Arlington community that tends to not go farther than Davis.

Our project has talked about seeing if Porter Square Books would be interested in opening another branch here; I'd be willing to help them do the work to see if it would make enough money to be worthwhile.

[visage.livejournal.com]

It's a half mile that makes a big difference to the West Somerville / West Medford / Tufts / Arlington community that tends to not go farther than Davis.

To me, that suggests that you don't want a bookstore in Davis Square, but one closer to the center of gravity of the people who wouldn't go as far as Porter for a bookstore.

[elfword.livejournal.com]

Geographic center doesn't matter as much as business activity center, though. Davis is the place where all the coffee shops, restaurants, and shops are. It's the nexus of subway and bus activity.

[mimiambic.livejournal.com]

Mmn. I also agree that you may want to look into a bookstore near Tufts/Medford/Arlington etc. Personally, I used to go to Davis for the library branch and Porter Square Books to buy new. (I live near Central now and still trek to PSB to buy my books. I love it deeply.)

And don't forget the commuter rail stop at Porter -- the Somerville public transportation nexus is a little wider than Davis proper.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

I live in Arlington, and am increasingly pleased with The Book Rack in Arlington Center. They have a good range of used fiction (though nothing remotely academic), and they're expanding into more new books, local-interest stuff, and kids' books. They have a bit less formal literary focus than Porter Square Books, but they're also cheaper (even for new books, I think), and similarly friendly. There's no in-store coffeehouse, but they're almost next to Starbucks and don't mind if you bring in a cup.

I very much want both Porter Square Books and The Book Rack to thrive. Go check them out! The 77, 80, and 87 buses all go to Arlington Center, though I like to walk on a nice day like this. (Probably best to take the bus home, when you'll be carrying books.)

[fefie.livejournal.com]

Not to mention there is a Red Line stop at Porter Sq too.

I'm a satisfied customer of Porter Sq Books -- and it was wonderful that opened shortly after the demise of Wordsworth. (I too mourn the Wordsworth space each time I walk by it.) Porter Sq Books has done a great job with its author reading series (featuring Somerville and Cambridge authors).

Having seen several bookstores come and go in Davis Sq. over the past 25 years in more bookstore-friendly times, I'm not keen on seeing a new bookstore try and cut into Porter Square Books' business.

(Ron et al, I remember 100 Flowers bookstore (and Off-the Wall Cinema) too. That was a more indie-friendly, pre-Amazon era. There were 3 bookstores in Davis Sq. back then as I recall.)

[ron_newman]

But a half mile is a 10-minute walk, at most. Perhaps Porter Square Books needs to market itself more effectively to the region you are talking about. But I'd rather have one healthy bookstore in Porter Square than two marginal ones barely scraping by to compete with each other.

[talonvaki.livejournal.com]

It's a half mile that makes a big difference to the West Somerville / West Medford / Tufts / Arlington community that tends to not go farther than Davis.

That's kind of their problem then, isn't it? If they want books, they'll have to go a little farther. When I lived in Porter and Porter Square Books was a clothing store, I went a mile to Harvard Square to buy books at WordsWorth. I never saw that as any kind of hardship...if I wanted a book, that's where the books were. So I dealt with it.

There isn't a hardware store, a supermarket, a pet supplies store, an Apple Store, or a City Sports in Davis Square, and yet, people manage.