At Anderson's Bookshop, Feel-Good Experiences Abound

Becky Anderson was excitedly talking about a children's book. This was not just any picture book, but Lane Smith's popular It's a Book.

Smith's book is about reading a real, physical book — not uploading or downloading or e-mailing or e-reading or blogging.

While much has changed over the years at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, the main commodity has not. If a book could represent a business, Smith's It's a Book seems to speak volumes for Anderson's Bookshop.

Today there are more options than ever for buying and reading books, and yet Becky Anderson believes the future remains bright for her independent bookstore, which is celebrating 46 years in business.

While digital e-readers may be useful for train commuters, it's harder to imagine a parent using one while snuggling with a child, reading Goodnight Moon.

"E-books — we know the sales are increasing," Anderson said. "We prefer physical books."

While people are using digital reading devices more and more, Anderson believes physical books will not disappear. Too many people enjoy the tactile experience, she said.

Anderson and her siblings are the fifth generation to run the family's businesses. The Anderson children grew up working at the family's pharmacy, Oswald's Pharmacy. In 1996, their father, Robert, sold the bookstore and Oswald's to his children — Bill, Tres, Becky and Pete. Bill runs the pharmacy. Becky and Tres run the bookstore. Pete manages the bookstore's warehouse.

The bookstore has survived and thrived through the generations. When Barnes & Noble moved in a few blocks away, some members of the local media were predicting the local bookshop's demise, Becky Anderson said.

Typically, an independent's business sees a drop of about 30 percent in communities where a big box retailer moved in, Anderson said. That didn't happen with her store. Instead, she said, business increased.

Anderson's is a major supporter of IndieBound, a program that highlights local independent business. Becky Anderson said there's a push to involve other independent local businesses in the program. The mission of IndieBound is to help people across the United States share and find independently owned businesses, according to the IndieBound web site.

What has helped Anderson's Bookshop succeed in such a competitive market?

"We are local. We can be quicker and nimble and do things that corporate (retailers) have to ask for permission," she said. "And, it comes down to the people who work for us."

The bookstore has a combination of 52 part-time and full-time employees, Anderson said. The store's employees range from high school and college students to those with years of experience.

"We like to have employees who are readers," she said, adding a quote from one of her employees: "We sell books the old-fashioned way: We read them."

Kris Nugent, the store's manager, has worked at Anderson's since 1993, when she was hired on part-time.

"A lot has changed as far as the community and as far as what the town looks like," Nugent said. "What we do has never really changed. We just try to bring the authors and readers together."

The store's employees are able to provide a personal touch and treat customers as if they were family, Nugent said.

The bookstore and its staff are friendly and helpful, said Kate Nufer, an 18-year resident of Naperville who recently was shopping at the bookstore.

While the Anderson family has had five generations of experience to learn from, those are not the only reasons for the shop's success, said John Schmitt, president and CEO of the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce.

"They need to continually reevaluate their business model and connect with every generation that comes along, and they have been able to do that," Schmitt said.

The chamber recognized Anderson's Bookshop as its 2010 Small Business of the Year.

Along with treating employees and customers like family, Anderson's does its best to make authors and publishers happy by scheduling frequent in-store appearances. Among the authors scheduled to appear at the store are Sara Paretsky, Eoin Colfer and Jamie Lee Curtis.

The bookshop often partners with other groups, organizations and schools to make author appearances a success for all involved, Anderson said. When Mutts cartoonist and writer Patrick McDonnell made an appearance at Anderson's, the store partnered with local shelters to do cross-promotion.

"We want to make connections with everything we do," Anderson said. "We have worked very hard over the years with New York and the publishers so that the authors will have a great experience."