On Wednesday, Nov. 22, Barnes and Noble Booksellers returned to Corte Madera Town Center. The retail outlet company reopened in the mall they left earlier in the year after a lease dispute in March. The national book retailers now look to focus their attention more on books, no longer offering their wide variety of toys and other media.
Country-wide, Barnes and Noble closed down their stores in locations over 20,000 square feet, downsizing to a model of under 10,000 square feet. The store in Corte Madera moved from a 25,000-square-foot store to a new 4,000-square-foot location. This drastic change in size is due to a desire to make Barnes and Noble feel more like a local bookstore, in hopes of enticing more avid book readers to shop with them.
“I think it’s great having smaller bookstores because bookstores seem like a great place for people to just have that tactile finding of literature,” said Archie Williams English teacher Zane Boehlke.
Some students at Archie Williams hope that the new store can inspire a whole new generation of book readers. The sharpened focus on books allows Barnes and Noble to draw people away from technology and into the hobby of reading. Senior Carlton Engelhardt believes the new store formula opens up many opportunities for both seasoned and new readers.
“Reopening the store gives two opportunities in my opinion,” Carlton said. “First, is the opportunity to create a modern space where kids can be introduced to and fall in love with reading. The second opportunity is the possibility of doing some sort of work or internship program with the store in order to give kids who love reading interesting opportunities.”
The new store brings forth a new chance for students to get a job that interests them, bringing avid readers together. The redeveloped smaller model also creates opportunities to support the public library institutions, a goal in downsizing renovations. According to Barnes and Noble Corte Madera Manager Logan Nevens, bookstores and libraries aspire to work together and not be competitors.
“I am an avid supporter of public libraries and want to have a symbiotic relationship with them, where we help each other,” Nevens said.
The Marin community now has a new place to find their favorite books, enhance their literary knowledge, and buy gifts, just in time for the rainy holiday season.
