Borders Advances the Superstore, and Librarians Take Note
Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 02/22/2008
- First of 14
- New staffed Digital Center
- Computer kiosks and the LongPen™
Book superstore chain Borders today opened, in its headquarters city of Ann Arbor, MI, the first of 14 new “concept stores.” The 28,900 square foot store offers not just a café and a community space with stage but also innovations like a staffed Digital Center for customers to make custom CDs, download books and music, explore genealogy, and create photo books.
Borders’ “phrases like ‘hub for knowledge, entertainment, and digital downloading’ or ‘they offer people with shared interests a site to gather and socialize’ could have come straight from the strategic plan of many a library,” observed Katherine Gould, director of the Palos Verdes Library District, CA, on her blog. “I'm one of those who thinks that bookstores actually do pose a competitive threat to libraries and that we need to face that threat head-on....”
Several areas in the store include computer kiosks and LCD screens; the Travel section offers trip recommendations and even booking opportunities. Software in the Graphic Novels section will help users create their own comic books. The store is the nation’s first retail location to feature the LongPen™, conceived by author Margaret Atwood, which allows authors and other personages, available via video conferencing, to autograph books and other materials.
