Independent bookstores from across Oklahoma have joined to form the Oklahoma Independent Booksellers Association.
2 News listened to local bookstore owners and customers about the need to join forces.
Jeff Martin, President and co-founder of Magic City Books in Tulsa formed the association with Joe Hight, President of Best of Books in Edmond. They invited independent bookstores from across the state to join.
Martin and Hight said the mission of the association is to "collaborate, advocate and educate on behalf of independent bookstores, both those that sell new or used books or a combination of both.”
“We felt it important that Oklahomans and others know that the number of independent bookstores are growing in this state and are important to communities large and small,” said Hight. “As a group, we can support each other in various ways to help sustain each other’s growth while continuing to operate as independent small businesses.”
“I love working with kids, finding that right thing to read, finding their interest, and making that light bulb go off,” Karen Barros told 2 News.
As a former schoolteacher, Barros is used to assigning books to kids. Now she sells them at her Enchanted Children’s Bookstore on Collinsville’s Main Street.
She started her family business two years ago, partly because she believes reading should be a personal experience, something you can’t get through Amazon.
“I sit and talk with the kids, find their interests, and for a lot of kids, reading is not fun,” she explained.
Asked how often she comes to Enchanted, nine-year-old Maddie Tucker replied, “About maybe twice a week.”
She said she’s an avid reader, especially of history and animal books, but that “sometimes I just come to visit though.”
That’s because Tucker told us she likes the people and atmosphere of Barros’ shop.
According to one book we found at Enchanted, titled “The ABCs of Oklahoma,” “O” is for “okra.”
But now O is also for the Oklahoma Independent Booksellers Association. It’s a newly formed support network helping local shops across the state, like Enchanted in Collinsville or Magic City Books in downtown Tulsa.
“We could probably react and speak more collectively to threats that are happening,” explained Jeff Martin. “We have a lot of legislative threats to, you know, freedom to read happening in this state.”
Martin, the president of the Magic City, helped start the Booksellers Association along with Joe Hight from Best of Books in Edmond. Martin told 2 News it’s a tough industry and that the goal is also for these small businesses to offer basic advice.
“‘What's your best way of ordering books for this event? Or have you ever done an event like this?’ That's a real basic level,” he said. “But sometimes it's, you know, ‘We're getting bullied online for a position we took on a certain book that we have in the store. How do we respond? Do we respond?’”
Oklahoma now has an estimated 40 independent bookstores. So far, just under 20 have joined the association.
“We definitely will grow from each other and share ideas and sorrows and excitement,” Barros said.
The announcement of the association comes the same week as "Independent Bookstore Day," which takes place on the last Saturday in April.
Bookstores that will be part of the initial association are:
- A Novel Idea Bookshop
- Best of Books
- Bluebird Books
- Bookish Used Books & Art
- Commonplace Books
- Enchanted Children’s Bookstore
- Full Circle Bookstore
- Fulton Street Books and Coffee
- Green Feather Book Company
- Literati Press Bookshop
- Lost and Bound Books
- Love Stories Romance Bookstore
- Magic City Books
- Paper Pages Bookstore
- Second Story Books
- The Floating Bookshop
- The Lore
- The Same Page
- Too Fond of Books
Organizers said other independent bookstores in Oklahoma have been invited to participate. Store owners who are interested can fill out this Google Form.
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