You love books as much as any other graduate of the Illinois university system.
Perhaps even more. Edwardsville isn't exactly a hot spot of vibrant night life and reading passes the time.
Maybe you were only looking for a bar that didn't card minors.
But you appreciate the existence of such an area, and you want those who follow in your footsteps to experience the same sort of vitality when they venture out of their dorm rooms for the first time. You don't want them facing an array of boarded up storefronts, do you?
AfterWords Books needs your help to keep the doors open.
The store has relocated to a smaller space, in large part because the market for new and used books is suffering. Being a university town, you'd expect people to be tech savvy. The e-reader is popular here, and so the hardcopy book is not. Ergo, the bookstore is hurting, but owner LuAnn Locke has hopes that she can make it catering to the smaller niche market of those who like to turn pages.
Ms.Locke has turned to crowdsourcing to raise the funds needed to bring her new building up to code.
What could be more charming, more small-town-southern-Illinois than a store where the owner lives upstairs? That is the scenario Ms. Locke envisions, but she can't live upstairs until she has a kitchen installed and that will take money she doesn't have.
If you attended SIU-Edwardsville, you owe it to the town that put up with your nonsense. Donate a few dollars; it doesn't take much from an individual. The power of crowdsourcing comes from the crowd, like a shop that survives on slim margins through high volume.
In a smaller setting, Ms. Locke hopes to keep the bookstore alive for the incoming classes of English majors needing cheap used books, and the residents of the area who like to read but don't want to shell out big bucks for brand new copies when used are perfectly functional.
A bookstore brings life to an otherwise dull business district. It's a great place to browse for treasures on a cold or rainy day. It represents civilization in an otherwise cold and sterile environment.
Do it for your school. Donate a little and save a lot. Go COUGARS!!!
1 comment:
Dear Peg, I just happened upon this post and wanted to thank you for reaching out to the SIUE community, encouraging all to support our little, independent bookstore! The shop local movement is stronger than ever as our community understands the value of the small, independent businesses that make up the Edwardsville/Glen Carbon area.
There’s a growing consciousness of the importance of each individual commitment to nurture the community, to see their tax dollars directly benefit their towns, that culture and diversity are meaningful, that it’s their neighbors who are all working together to make a difference.
Afterwords Books understands that our customers could buy goods and services at the big box stores for significantly less, but we’re fortunate in that more and more people truly understand that the few dollars it seems they are saving at face value are not worth the compromise to the vitality of their community. Thank you!!
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