Overseeing a business, organization, or even a household during a pandemic—with its uncertainty as new information unfolds daily—is like driving a vehicle down a mountain through a deep fog. As Gramercy Books looks toward reopening our store later in May, I believe there is a silver lining to this challenging environment.
What follows is a diary of how COVID-19 has affected one locally owned, independent bookstore located just outside Columbus, Ohio. I started keeping a diary, just to keep track of day-to-day adjustments to this unfolding crisis. It now seems like a useful guide, revealing what one small business is doing to adapt to a pandemic.
Effective March 24 through April 6, Gramercy Books will be closed to walk-in traffic, in compliance with Ohio Governor DeWine’s stay at home order. Booksellers will continue to process your online orders from the safety of their homes. We’ll continue to offer free shipping on orders of $25 or more. And we will continue to engage with you every day.
We now have the gift of time: to read to each other, to read for ourselves. Gramercy Books is keeping our doors open to offer refuge when you need a change of scenery. We also have free shipping for purchases over $25 and curbside pickup. We’re here to take your calls, questions, and orders for books, games, puzzles, and more.
During a month that celebrates the impact of women on our world and the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society, I couldn’t help but consider the theme of Janice Kaplan’s recently published book, The Genius of Women. The former Parade editor-in-chief explores why the accomplishments of so many women have been overlooked.
Harvard Business School professor Ryan Rafaelli spoke to booksellers in Baltimore in late January about how industries, organizations, and business leaders reinvent themselves in the face of radical technological change. After years of research of independent bookstores, he concluded that the indie seller provides a story of hope for community-led businesses through the three C’s.
To kick off the new year, Gramercy Books will host a panel of serious readers—an author, library associate, and book critic moderated by yours truly—talking about their favorite book(s) of 2019, and those titles they’re most looking forward to this year. Here are my 2019 favorites and those books I am most excited about in early 2020.
Small Business Saturday is a day dedicated to supporting small businesses and communities across the country. Founded by American Express in 2010 at the height of the economic recession, this day is celebrated each year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
Meet master storyteller Louis Bayard, Gramercy’s featured author for our first Prosecco and Prose literary series to be held at Giuseppe’s Ritrovo on May 15th from 5 to 7 pm. In Courting Mr. Lincoln, Bayard uses vivid, witty and exquisite prose to bring the young Abraham Lincoln to life.
In Between Them, Richard Ford’s tender narrative of memory and parental love, the author notes that “most everything but love goes away.” One of America’s greatest living authors, Ford will appear at Capital University’s Mees Hall on April 23rd, 7 pm, as part of the Bexley Community Author Series, hosted by Bexley Public Library in partnership with Gramercy Books.
