Diane's Strong First Decade
Karen Kawaguchi -- 5/1/00
Family bookstore thrives in tough area, thanks to handselling and community outreach
A p m by David McCord welcomes readers at the entrance to Diane's Books of Greenwich: "Books fall open/You fall in/Delighted where/You've never been." Customers entering the Greenwich, Conn., bookstore really do feel as though they've fallen into a sea of books. Books burst from the shelves and are stacked everywhere, including the floor. Three women from a local book club talk animatedly about their favorites, including Susan Minot's Evening (Knopf) and Elizabeth Strout's Amy and Isabelle (Random House). And when Diane Garrett, the statuesque, energetic proprietor, finishes advising a customer on vacation books, the future traveler enthuses, "I loved everything you chose for me the last time."
In business since November 1990, Diane's Books is a family bookstore. "Lifelong readers come from families who read," Garrett told PW. Greenwich is a community of strong schools and libraries, as well as educated, affluent readers. For a decade, the bookstore has enjoyed the support of people with the interest and resources to purchase books.
Wandering through the adult section of 25,000 volumes of literary fiction, travel, cookbooks, art books, biographies and nonfiction, and continuing into the breathtaking collection of 55,000 children's books, customers often find themselves carrying three or four books. This is a place where books choose readers. And should anyone have trouble deciding what to read, Garrett and her knowledgeable staff are there to help. Also, unlike most newer bookstores, there are no distractions from books. The only additional merchandise sold in the store are audiobooks and plush animals based on book characters.
"I think everyone is really good at something, and has a special talent. I'm good at figuring out what people will enjoy reading and how to relay that information," Garrett said. "One must have a passion for it. That's the most important thing, along with knowledge. That's how we've built up integrity with our customers."
Garrett, along with managers Kathryn Longbotham and Elizabeth Murdoch and their staff, read constantly and deeply to keep up with new titles. Long-time customer Kathy Epstein reported with appreciation, "People who work at Diane's Books are all readers and excited about what they've read." The staff is encouraged to talk and listen to customers to understand likes and dislikes. "Our discussions about books and ideas are rewarding and energizing," says Longbotham.
Though there were several bookstores in town when Diane's Books opened, the only local competitor to survive is Just Books, the small, well-known Greenwich independent run by Warren Cassell. Superstores and online ordering seem to have had little impact on Garrett's sales. "Diane's is so different from these other sources of books," explained Garrett. "People who come in want help."
With a special knack for attracting authors for readings, Diane's Books has hosted such top writers as Jane Hamilton, Carol Shields, Susan Dodson, Kiana Davenport and Connie May Fowler. "Publishers know that we'll take good care of the authors, and we always read the books. We must love the work to invite the authors," said Garrett. Evidence of past author visits is recorded on the store's white "signing wall," which is covered with autographs and funny notes.
The store emphasizes inviting creators of children's books. "When a child meets an author, it changes the child's life," said Garrett. Eric Carle, Patricia Polacco and Brian Jacques have all appeared at the store. Last October, Diane's Books hosted J.K. Rowling for a carefully orchestrated event for 500 people at the Greenwich Teen Center. "The children who met J.K. Rowling will tell their own children and grandchildren about it," Garrett said.
Garrett has developed marketing concepts such as the store's Gift Book-of-the-Month Club idea. Customers provide the recipient's name and date of birth, and the lucky birthday person will receive a handpicked book each month.
The store also gives back to the community, which has made the store a success with various charitable reading programs. Garrett's Web site (www.dianesbooks. com) offers custom ers a chance to become a Diane's Books angel. Three elementary schools in Garrett's area have almost 400 children living at poverty level. She has also set up a reading program for the children of inmates at the Bedford Hills maximum security prison for women in nearby New York State. Garrett's mission is to educate these children by supplying them with books. Online customers can select which angel program they would like to contribute a book toward: the holiday angel program, the prison angel program or a five-year-old program that supplies the early reading anthology Ready, Set, Read (Doubleday) to first graders. For the first two programs, deserving children whose families cannot afford books are selected and sent to Diane's. For each selection Garrett and her staff select appropriate age books, gift wrap them and send them to the school or prison. After the most recent holidays (when the store gets its heaviest donations toward books), Garrett expanded the scope of her projects and is hoping to now fill the prison's nursery with books, build up the prison's library and create a book club for the inmates.
But the 7,000 customers on Garrett's newsletter mailing list are still her top priority. "Books change lives," Garrett told PW. And so, it seems, d s Diane's Books.
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