Books-For-A-Million

Whether you are shopping for a specific book, or just taking some time to yourself to browse around a bookstore, you may not be aware of all of the reasons you’re drawn into that store. When I had the chance to look around the Books-A-Million store in the Susquehanna Valley Mall, I was curious to see how the layout of the store contributed to the store itself. I wondered if there was a “method to the layout madness.” While I looked around and made interpretations of my own, I noted the floor plan of the store. Below is a sketch of Books-A-Million, a store that seems to appeal to all.

 

When you walk into the entrance of this store, there seems to be something for everyone depending on which direction you look. It is clear that when BAM was designing their floor plan, they wanted their store to appeal to many different audiences. Because Books-A-Million is a corporate bookstore chain, it is appropriate to assume that they are not attempting to cater to one certain type of book consumer. BAM wants to lure all kinds of readers into their store in hopes they will want to continue shopping around the store after looking at what originally appealed to them. In my opinion the floor plan in Books-A-Million represents the goal to attract readers of all genres into their store. However, I couldn’t help but feel the store also had a deeper hidden message in the way it was organized.

Upon entering the store the first thing that appeals to many customers is a small cart of books that are labeled with the words everyone loves to see when shopping in a mall – on sale.  This small cart is simple, but it is a sure way to get shoppers to look in the stores direction and draw them in to get a closer look. This is where the floor plan begins to do its job. At the entrance, consumers get a taste of everything that can be offered in the store. To the right there are magazines of all genres in the newsstand section. To the left customers see new arrivals, top sellers, and a featured series. The featured series is complete with books and merchandise of all kinds that may appeal to fans of the series. There are both tables and shelves full of books and games that coincide with the series theme. Straight ahead are shelves and shelves of genres that are clearly labeled so readers of all genres can find what they are looking for. In the back there is a brightly colored sign that is for the kids. the kids section aligns the while back wall of the store and is filled with books as well as toys and games that appeal to young shoppers. This leads to me to believe the layout is appealing to everyone; no matter what stage of life that person is in. Is BAM a representation of  stages of life? I didn’t think this could be until I recognized a path around the outside edges of the store.

Left wall of BAM in Selinsgrove. Genres are listed above creating columns.

Along the left wall shoppers are provided with a large variety of books to look through. What I found interesting about this wall, was it appeared as though it were a timeline. While walking through the store I was unaware of this at first. But after creating my floor plan and taking a deeper look into the genres listed above, I noticed this pattern. Starting at the front of this store the labels are favorites, local, interest, art, music, games etc. I believe these are grouped together because they are all common human interest. However, as you work your way back deeper through the store, the genres also seem to grow deeper. Towards the back we being to see spirit, philosophy, and biographies. After this group consumers begin to see more genres such as business, cooking, and parenting. It was no surprise to see that the corner of the store connects parenting to baby’s first books. The baby books develop into children’s books and increase in reading level as it moves along the edge of the store.

This layout to me indicates a cycle. This is the cycle of interest as we grow as humans. The outside walls of the store represent the stages of life most people experience. beginning at the left wall with interests and leading into self growth, religion, and philosophy. Next, we get into the part of life we begin to have interest in business and parenting. This leads into the kids section as we have children and teach them to grow. The inside of the store has other books, games, toys, etc. I feel these things represent what we need during our lives to help us grow through each of these outer sections. When I think about the bookstore as a representation of a life cycle, I think about a quote from Walter Benjamin in Unpacking My Library: A Talk About Book Collecting. Benjamin says “Every passion boarders on the chaotic, but the collector’s passion boarders on the chaos on memories.” (Benjamin 60) I think about this quote because if everyone thought about bookstores as representations of life then we would be wanting to collect these books with passion, even if it seems chaotic.

Overall, I feel that Books-A-Million appeals to everyone in a way that draws everyone into the store. I feel the drawing people in effect is due to the connection of life stages all people go through. Life takes us through many phases and sometimes we need things to help us through these phases, so why not use collection of books? Benjamin states, “Collectors are people with a tactical instinct; Their experience teaches them…” (Benjamin 63) We should use our experiences to learn to move through the stages of life, and to do this Benjamin suggests we create our own collections. Books-A-Million’s floor plan is one that invites consumers in to become collectors, and there is a book for everyone no matter what stage of life you are in.

 

Sources:

Text

Benjamin, Walter. Unpacking My Library: A Talk About Book Collecting. Schocken Books, 1931.

Images

Courtesy of Madison Rice

 

Floor plan

Created on www.thinglink.com

Books-A-Million: A Temporary Moment

When I’d first encountered Books-A-Million at the Susquehanna Valley Mall, I’d have to say the experience lacked any memorable qualities that personally spoke to me. As someone who grew up around independent bookstores, I couldn’t shake the feeling that a corporate bookstore was more of a temporary space. For the everyday consumer, a temporary space may not have an effect on what is sold in a store. But for an avid book lover, the bookstore itself entices, connects, and creates the type of audience that are drawn to the space.

For Books-A-Million, their audience appears to be a combination of consumers, book lovers, temporary fandoms, and deal-seekers. The bookstore uses a well-organized, strategic floor plan to herd their audience into the store. (See the floor plan shown below.)

Floor plan of Books-A-Million in the Susquehanna Valley Mall.
Note: Picture not drawn to scale. Green circle is the entrance.

The location of Books-A-Million is strategic in and of itself. The bookstore is located a short distance from Auntie Anne’s and a Cinnabon, two food sources that have food and beverages to- go so people can walk around and browse. Books-A-Million has large windows on either side of their entrance to showcase all of their colorful “special products” inside. While stores in the mall usually have large windows, it nonetheless still adds to the bookstore’s toy-box-like charm.

For those who wander by, they’ll peek through the windows and notice an assortment of items: large stuffed animals nestled close to the glass (“casually” placed in front of the New Arrivals section), a huge Harry Potter section that consists of wizard wands, character Funko POPS! and, of course, the book series (but with their new redone covers). On the right side, slightly adjacent from the magazines, are the Easter decorations that show the bookstore keeps up with the holidays as well as the trends.

As someone who doesn’t care about the trends of today, I felt thrown off at how “in the moment” the sneak preview of the store had been. Other than childhood nostalgia, there doesn’t seem to be a connection to the past like that of an independent bookstore. In Unpacking My Library: A Talk about Book Collecting, Walter Benjamin discussed the idea of ownership as magic because it’s a connection with the past (60-61). There is nothing wrong with being in the moment, but can we really learn or enhance our experiences if we lose that connection with the past?

The two end and middle isles were pretty slim. A smart strategy to get consumers to turn around and look so they avoid hitting anything. 

I pondered this question as I stood at the entrance. I’m greeted with the Last Chance book rack, which is positioned to be half-in and out of the store. Like a magnet, my eyes are drawn to the inside of the store by the medium-sized 20% off political, young adult, and horror novels. I couldn’t help but cringe at the little discount stickers that stuck to the covers. There seemed to be no thought into how hard it can be to remove a sticker from a paperback cover without damage to the book.

As I turned to exit, the shine of the Funko POP! cardboard and game containers reflected on my glasses. As I past through the slim isle, I found myself before the New Arrival section. The end of the new arrivals and New York Times Best Sellers aligned with the end of the Manga section. I continued straight through the Young Adult, where the covers began to look the same. A few steps away was the Nonfiction section.

One-third of the first Nonfiction shelf had contained Christian-Living. (There is an image of the shelf on the floor plan.) I thought about the connection between the past and the present. With such a small nonfiction section it seemed like Books-A-Million wasn’t interested in anything to do with the lives of people. However, their World History and Sports section begged to differ. Books-A-Million did kind of care about the past, but only if it pertained to the more well-known occurrences (i.e., the World Wars, Trump presidency, famous football players, etc.). Rather than embrace the past, the bookstore boxed the past in between Young Adult fiction, Adult Romances, Parenting, and young children; all things that pertain to things accustomed to “the now” or to the future.

In my eyes, Books-A-Million does follow the stereotypical chain bookstore idea: follow the trends of today and the future. As I stood before the Parenting and Baby’s First Books section, with the past literally behind me, I couldn’t help the feeling of being temporary, like every Young Adult novel that would soon be rotated out for a newer, similar Young Adult novel.

The slim spaces between the shelves helps herd costumers in a particular direction.

Yet I continued towards the toys and Children’s section, which covered the large L-shaped portion of the bookshelves on the right until the Mystery section began.

Ironically, the Adult Romances were placed near the Children’s section. I thought the placement was both fitting and alarming. Fitting, because in some cases the content of the adult romance may lead to actions that lead to parenting. Alarming, because I wouldn’t want my young children to pick a random book off the shelf that may lead to answering uncomfortable questions in the bookstore.

Finally, we’ve reached the checkout. The position of the cash register is perfect for an eagle eyed view of all the “important” components a corporate mind might care about: the entrance, the last chance sales rack, smaller accessories, such as gift cards and little children’s toys, and the staff picks. Since a chain bookstore wants cashiers, someone should always be present to discuss their choice pick. Just as you go to leave, to the right of the cashier, there is a magazine section for people who enjoy magazines or those who have to wait.

As I left Books-A-Million, I felt like I was leaving just a plain store. The design of the store ushered me to the left until I came full circle. The books seemed like mere objects, products, rather than something people may view as sacred.

In Reluctant Capitalists, Laura Miller discusses the idea of books being “beyond products”, that it is us, the individual, that makes the book a sacred object because of our attachment to it (21). But I’d argue that the atmosphere a bookstore holds can impact how an individual views the book.

Like Books-A-Million, if a book is disregarded as a simple object and put in a store that feels like every other store, then that feeling will present itself to the costumer and influence their perception of the book. The vibrant lights and colors of a bookstore may work to draw people in, but if there isn’t a strong vibe or link between the place and the book, then the book will forever be deemed just a temporary object for a place that will never feel like home. If there is nothing to connect the book or place to the past, could it ever be sacred or a home?

Sources

Text

Benjamin, Walter. Unpacking My Library: A Talk About Book Collecting. Schocken Books, 1931.

Miller, Laura J. Reluctant Capitalists: Bookselling and the Culture of Consumption. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006.

Images

Courtesy of Starr Cole

Floor plan created at Thinglink

Saving Grace: Books-A-Million as a New Anchor for the Susquehanna Valley Mall

The life and culture that Books-A-Million provides appears uncharacteristic for the mall in which it resides. While other vendors in the Susquehanna Valley Mall of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania seem to host few enthusiastic customers or sit vacant all together, this Books-A-Million stands out with its huge displays of literature and merchandise. Older folks wander its aisles and take a liking to the more classical selections it houses, while teens and young adults peruse the lines of comic book, movie, and novella merchandise in hopes of finding some sort of memorabilia for their favorite stories. People of all ages, backgrounds, and interests are drawn into the Books-A-Million because of all it has to offer to ordinary mall patrons and book fanatics alike: giving the slowly declining Susquehanna Valley Mall a hopeful light… but has it always been this way? How did this Books-A-Million become a sort of saving grace for this Central Pennsylvania shopping mall?  

 

(powered by Time Graphics)

In order to see the true importance of this Books-A-Million, we must first understand the nature of the place in which it resides. The Susquehanna Valley Mall was opened in 1978, anchored by a Boscov’s that still operates in the establishment today. The Boscov’s bustled with business, giving perfect leverage for a shopping mall to enter the same area. The mall attracted business with two main anchors, Boscov’s and Bon-Ton, and 400,000 square-feet of retail vendors and food destinations. 20 years later, the mall expanded to include J.C. Penney’s and Sears as two more anchors and other stores full of commercial diversity. This mall was the biggest commercial success the Susquehanna Valley had ever seen, and thrived as such for almost another 15 years after this expansion (Revolvy). 

A place for booklovers in the Susquehanna Valley Mall didn’t come about until the mall’s expansion, however; a Borders opened its doors around the early 2000’s. The mall’s expansion allowed more of a diverse selection of vendors, making a perfect destination for a chain bookstore such as Borders to plant its roots (Purscell).  Borders, a national bookstore chain that expanded from Waldenbooks in the early 1970’s, moved into the Susquehanna Valley Mall around 1998-2000 and operated in exactly the same spot that the Books-A-Million sits today. Borders, due to its similar structure to the Books-A-Million chain, served almost the same purpose of providing a diverse source of entertainment and literature for the greater Susqueha-

The main entrance of the Susquehanna Valley Mall

nna Valley area. Although there is little information I can find about the success of this particular Borders chain in the Susquehanna Valley Mall, it is quite obvious that its ending did not come about in as positive of a light as its beginnings.  

The Borders of the Susquehanna Valley Mall, and all other Borders chains in the United States, closed their doors due to bankruptcy in early 2011, leaving readers with no home in this quaint shopping mall. Unfortunately, the entirety of the Susquehanna Valley Mall was heading in the same direction just a short time after. By 2015, the Susquehanna Valley Mall had hit an economic downturn it had never experienced before. The major anchors of the mall, such as Sears and Bon-Ton, closed their doors and took with them much of the mall’s business. Not only that, but smaller retailers failed to keep their doors open due to a lessened influx of customers, leaving a large amount of vacancy in the heart of the mall. To this day, the mall still suffers and holds about 25 vacant spaces unable to be filled by promising retailers.  

News coverage on the rapid downfall of the Susquehanna Valley Mall and other Central Pennsylvania shopping malls.

Anchors Away: The Downfall of Central Pennsylvania Malls 

Considering the economic turmoil of this quaint shopping mall, its hard to imagine having such a successful book retailer operating behind its doors. While over half of the vendors sit untouched by consumers and others slowly lose stability, Books-A-Million continues to provide for the greater Susquehanna Valley’s literary community. To me, it seems as if the deterioration of its neighbors aided in its own success.  

The Books-A-Million in the Susquehanna Valley Mall opened on October 28th, 2011, just a few short months after the Borders closed its doors. The announcement of a new book and entertainment hub in the mall excited loyal customers, for the vacancy of the Borders was a painful jab to an already vulnerable commercial area; customers who had begun to lose hope by the emptying of valuable businesses in the mall now had a worthwhile reason to return (Book Store Opens). Although there is little allusion as to why this Books-A-Million was chosen to replace the Borders that came before it, the fact that it did alone has brought a positive light to this dying shopping mall.  

The storefront of the Books-A-Million of the Susquehanna Valley Mall, courtesy of their Facebook Page.

I do have to admit that when visiting this Books-A-Million in the middle of a Friday afternoon, I saw few unique factors that would have made the store shine the way it does. Having grown up outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, which offers hundreds of similar chain retailers to those that are offered in the greater Susquehanna Valley, I walked into this Books-A-Million and saw an identical store to the Books-A-Million I went to back home. It’s eye-catching displays, wide selection of novels, and aesthetically pleasing stationary were all things I had seen before, and I dismissed them from being unique or worthy of my attention immediately. It wasn’t until I did a bit of online snooping that the significance of this little chain became clear to me.  

This Books-A-Million is not just your ordinary bookstore; it’s a beating heart of culture and literary engagement in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. Not only does this Books-A-Million provide classic and popular literature for its patrons, but it also hosts engaging activities for young readers, features worthwhile items that it wants its customers to investigate, hosts family-friendly events, and even has had a few authors come in to talk about their work. Books-A-Million runs a Facebook page that advertises these exciting opportunities for literary exploration, so that booklovers are informed and can communicate with one another about different aspects of the store. It was through this social media platform that I was finally able to observe the kind of cultural landmark this Books-A-Million creates for the greater Susquehanna Valley. Not only is this Books-A-Million a place for the reader, but it’s a place for family and community.  

Books-A-Million is not just a simple bookstore that mall patrons pass by on their way to their favorite clothing retailer or the Cinnabon down the hall: it is a locale for every type of booklover. Tim Cresswell, human geographer and scholar, says that place is not just a simple location on a map, but a “way of seeing, knowing, and understanding the world,” (Place: A Short). Books-A-Million is a place for every type of reader, regardless of background or identity, to fall in love with literature and understand its importance. It opens its doors to the greater Susquehanna Valley in ways that promote community, exploration, entertainment, and creativity for all people. Although you may enter this Books-A-Million and see it as just a place to pick up the book you’ve been dying to read, or even just another ordinary vendor in a shabby shopping mall, it has the potential to be so much more and has proven itself as such so far. Books-A-Million is that not-so-conventional bookstore that communities such as the greater Susquehanna Valley need in order to keep literature alive.  

 

Sources:

Nonperiodicals

Cresswell, Tim. Place: A Short Introduction.

Images

Books-A-Million. Books-A-Million Storefront. Facebook, www.facebook.com/Books-A-Million-386640151734113/. Accessed 1 Mar. 2019.

News Radio 1070 WKOK. Susquehanna Valley Mall. 6 Feb. 2019. News Radio 1070, www.wkok.com/susquehanna-valley-mall-not-being-sold/. Accessed 1 Mar. 2019.

WNEP News Station. Anchors Away. Digital file.

Web sites, e-sources

Book Store Opens Friday. The Daily Item, 26 Oct. 2011, www.dailyitem.com/b-briefs/article_f80cf1c9-116d-5a41-8e77-566c52e5c0ef.html. Accessed 1 Mar. 2019.

Purscell, Tricia. “Susquehanna Valley Mall: Under One Roof for 30 Years.” The Daily Item, 22 Nov. 2008, archive.fo/20140204020957/http://www.dailyitem.com/0100_news/x691306146/Susquehanna-Valley-Mall-Under-one-roof-for-30-years. Accessed 1 Mar. 2019.

Revolvy. “Susquehanna Valley Mall.” Revolvy, www.revolvy.com/page/Susquehanna-Valley-Mall?stype=folders. Accessed 1 Mar. 2019.

WNEP News Station. “Shoppers Concerned as Anchor Stores Close in Local Malls.” WNEP The News Station, wnep.com/2017/01/05/shoppers-concerned-as-anchor-stores-close-in-local-malls/. Accessed 1 Mar. 2019.