Strolling Through Library Express

Now picture this… It is a Saturday morning, and you decide you want to take a stroll through the Marketplace at Steamtown. You start by parking your car in the parking garage then you take the escalator up to the first floor of the mall. As you are strolling through the first floor you see different types of stores. You see a dentist’s office, an aquarium, Geisinger, a Starbucks, etc. Since there is a Starbucks you may grab a cup of coffee before you decide to continue your stroll through the mall.

After getting your Starbucks coffee you make your way up to the second floor of the mall and almost immediately your eye catches the wooden panels that border a store. Out of curiosity, you make your way toward it and discover that it is a bookstore called Library Express.

Not only is the Library Express a bookstore, but it is also a public library that is connected with the Lackawanna Country Library System. This is just one way that makes the bookstore stand out compared to other bookstores.

Before even entering the bookstore, you will find three carts full of books that they keep outside of the store to attract customers to their store. Keeping book carts outside of a bookstore allows customers to browse through the books on the outside of the store before they decide to continue their way into the store.

Along with the carts full of books, they also have signs that help advertise their store more. The sign that is at the far left of the front of the bookstore shows what sales and programs they have going on during the month. As you make your way to the entrance there is another sign that has flyers on it that promote the different events the bookstore holds during that month. As you pass the sign there is a cart full of books and another one right after it.

Lighting

In Lyndsie Manusos’s article, “The Science and Recent History of Bookstore Design,” she talks about how “lighting and space have always been important” which remains to be true it is the first thing a customer notices when they enter Library Express or any bookstore. Manusos also mentioned how “Bright lighting is important… but natural light was and still is a priority” which is not the case for Library Express. Since the bookstore is inside of a mall, it has no natural lighting. Instead, they have artificial lighting that helps brighten the store up so their customers can read better while they are browsing. At the entrance of the store, you can see the light source right away. Along with it are books used as decorations that are hanging from the ceiling right by the lights.

Entering Library Express

Then when you finally make it past the doorway you will see a book display that holds books that fall under the “NY Times Bestsellers” category. On this book display, you can find Walter Isaacson’s book on Elon Musk. A regular customer would have to purchase the book for its full price, but if a customer happened to have a Lackawanna County Library System Library Card (usually labeled as an LCLS Library Card) then they get a 25% discount if they buy the book. Another book you can find is Daniel Stashower’s American Demon which is 25% off for anyone who has an LCLS Library Card.

Library Express Floor Plan

The floor plan was created by Amelia Alexander and then modified by Janina Reynolds via Thinglink. A little key for the color of the icons: the icons in blue are part of the bookstore. They are typically books, but two of them are also just window displays. The green icons are other items that customers can purchase that are not books. Then the black icons have to do with the library part of Library Express.

The Right Side of Library Express

From the “NY Times Bestseller” display you may head towards the right side of the store. The first thing you will see is a table full of calendars and planners that were 10% off. Behind the table is a U-shaped space for customers to walk behind and look at the bookshelves that surround the table. Going from the right side of the table you see a section full of Cookbooks so if you want to learn a new style of cooking and want to get a book on it then this is exactly where you need to look. As you continue walking the U-shape space you will see a section for Wellness, References, Religion, and two bookcases full of books that are part of the Social Science/History genres. Then at the very end of the pathway, you will find a bookcase full of Journals. As you continue walking straight you will find a small table that is a mix of Nonfiction and Fiction New Releases.

Also on the right side of the store as you head further in you will see a whole section dedicated to the television series, The Office. In this section, they have Dunder Mifflin merch and they even have some Scranton merch as well.

In Scranton, The Office is something that gets recognized by many people because the show was set in Scranton. A section of their bookstore dedicated to it ties the store into its community. It also brings in people who may be visiting and have watched the show.

Placing it right next to the check-out desk also allows customers to get their books first and then potentially stop by and grab Dunder Mifflin merch as well.

The Left Side of Library Express

Heading towards the left side you will see a bookcase with two tables behind it. The items on the table closest to the “NY Times Bestseller” display are Art items that are facing toward the walkway so that customers can look at them. On the other table, it is full of books that are part of the Classics Genre. Behind that table are bookcases that are against the wall full of books that are also part of the Classics Genre.

The bookcase that the tables are behind also holds Classic novels. However, to look at the books in this case a customer must go to the check-out desk and ask for assistance so that they can look at one of the books. A locked bookcase where you can see what books are in it, but can only access them if you ask for assistance gives customers a different feeling than bookcases where they can just pick up a book and look through it at their own free will. In Lydia Pyne’s novel, bookshelf, she talks about a practice known as chaining. She describes chaining as “a practice that reinforced a relationship of power and access between those who curated the books and those who read them” (Pyne 11). Seeing a locked bookcase may make customers feel this way. They may look at the display and want a book that is in it but still want to have the bare minimum interaction with a worker and decide to look at other books instead. The novel also mentioned that “libraries acted as gatekeepers… determining how access to its books would be granted” (Pyne 15). This can be applied well in this case since Library Express is not only a bookstore but also a public library.

Making your way towards the back through the left side of the store. You will find there are several bookcases full of books in the Fiction genre then get into the Young Adult genre. In this area, there is a bookcase that holds novels that fall under the “Books to Film” category and novels that are Biographies.

In this specific area, Library Express also has a circle table at the center of it making it easy to move around it. Another plus to the circle table is that everything that was on the table was “Buy One Get One 50% Off.” Including a table that is full of books that are part of a deal is a good move because book lovers also love a good book deal.

The Library Part of Library Express

Towards the back of the bookstore is where the library part of more noticeable. They have a sign hanging from the ceiling at the right side of the back of the store that says: “Lackawanna County Library System.” At the back right of the store, they have three bookshelves full of books. The way they categorize the books on these shelves is considered “Large Print.” All of these books you can borrow if you have an LCLS Library Card. In the middle of this area, there is an activities table where library members and customers can rate the last book they read and kids are even able to do some coloring as well.

The Center of Library Express

At the center of Library Express is where they keep their non-book items. Close to the check-out desk, they have tables that are full of socks and another table that is full of cards and mugs. Between the table of socks and the table with the Fiction New Releases, they have racks full of tote bags.

Having non-book items at the center of the store near the check-out desk is a smart design because even though someone may have found all the books that they wanted they will still look at the items on the center table and the chances are they may purchase something. Especially if someone is buying a bunch of books they may buy a tote bag so that they can carry their new books in it.