Bookstore Protectionism: Where it Works, and How

There’s no end to the good things people have to say about independent bookstores. Some of it is teary-eyed hyperbole—they reflect the soul of a community; they offer the comforts of a second home—but even if such appraisals are sentimental, they're always sincere. The local bookstore may be a repository for literary history, an instrument for social change, or a place to meet neighbors. That and a nice place to buy books.

Bookstore love isn’t always so abstract. In 2002, threatened by the looming prospect of a Borders across the street, Austin’s BookPeople hired consultancy Civic Economics. The firm found that for every $100 spent at the bookstore, the homegrown shop put $45 back into the local economy, compared to just $13 for the national chain. The Borders development, which had been set to receive about $2 million in incentives from the city, eventually fell through.