The Birth of the Mega-Bookstore

It’s “back to school” time again, when the temperatures drop (very slightly), students flood back to campus, and we all sharpen our pencils after a leisurely summer. Campus bookstores across the country will be expecting big crowds these next few weeks, as students make their lists of which books they’ll need to get them through the semester. With that in mind, today Off The Grid takes a look at the history of student bookstores and mega bookstores. Perhaps surprisingly, there are deep Village connections.

These days, many people see bookstores like Barnes & Noble as the big-box enemy. They took the country by storm a few decades ago, revolutionizing the way we bought books, and gobbled up many small shops in the process. The book business is still greatly in flux, and decline in readership combined with e-options has put even the future of these once-seemingly indomitable book-selling behemoths in jeopardy. For example, the former Barnes & Noble store on 6th Avenue in Greenwich Village (a B. Dalton’s before that) has stood empty since 2013. It’s been a tumultuous few decades for book selling and buying in the Village, but the origins of the modern mega-store is actually very much entwined with campus bookstores and the Village.

In the mid-20th century, bookselling was a relatively quaint affair. Local shops catered to their distinct audiences, treated books reverentially, and didn’t often focus too much on maximizing efficiency or profit. There were a few larger bookstores, like the corporate outfits we’re familiar with today, but they generally catered to students or wholesale customers. Even Barnes & Noble, which was established in the 1870s, started out as a textbook company and remained focused on their academic customers even as they attempted to expand into more general interest markets. I use the word “attempted” because by the 1950’s and 60’s, Barnes & Noble was struggling. They were going through an identity crisis – textbooks were their bread and butter, but they had broader ambitions and wanted to serve all book buyers. They were trying to straddle two worlds – large-scale, unpretentious textbook sellers and traditional, scholarly bookstores. But their large stores weren’t excelling at either endeavor, and customers weren’t impressed.

Meanwhile, New York native Leonard Riggio was funding an NYU engineering degree with shifts at the campus bookstore when he realized he had a mind for business. So rather than complete his degree, he borrowed $5,000 in 1965 and rented a storefront at 17 Waverly Place – right across the street from his former employer. He called his rival store SBX (for Student Book Exchange). Riggio’s Greenwich Village store was an immediate success, and within six years he had earned contracts to run six other student bookstores in the region. And just a few years later, he purchased the failing Barnes & Noble stores.

Riggio imposed his business know-how on the existing Barnes & Noble brand, and the rest is corporate history. Rather than try to straddle the world of traditional bookselling, he doubled-down on the campus bookstore mentality. Riggio’s stores were supermarket-like atmospheres (they even provided shopping carts) that trafficked in used books and deep discounts. Small bookstores, of course, had always offered used books. But no one had ever operated in quantities like the new Barnes & Noble. Their inventory was massive, and no small store could compete on prices.

Greenwich Village has such a strong reputation for local business and neighborhood stores, it’s hard to believe that Riggio’s first mega-store was born right on Waverly. He perfected his supermarket model in the Village, and while that certainly challenged some of the smaller stores in the area, it has not erased them. The Village still boasts many wonderful local bookstores, including September 2015 Business of the Month Mercer Books, March 2015 Business of the Month bookbook, and 2016 Village Award winner Strand Bookstore. So get into the “back to school” mentality and visit one this week! They may not offer you a shopping cart at the door, but something tells me you won’t be craving the supermarket aesthetic.

And if you remember the original SBX on Waverly, please let us know! Maybe you have some fond remembrances of buying your textbooks there?  Start the conversation in the comments!