There's a new bookstore in town in Indianapolis, and it's called Big Hat Books. Owner Elizabeth Houghton Barden came up with the name: "It's fun, it's easy to remember, I wanted something that captured a bit of the cowboy spirit. It makes me feel as if I am living large. After all, bookselling is a whole new frontier for me."
Big Hat Books, which opened at the end of October, is the only independent general full-service bookstore in Indianapolis. The 1,125 square feet of retail space contains an inventory of 6,800 titles. The store has one full-time manager and three part-time employees.
Barden, a former marketing consultant with no previous bookselling experience, told PW that childhood memories of traipsing around New York City's legendary bookstores fueled her decision to open a bookstore in the city she has called home for the past four years.
"I grew up in New York City, with all of its great bookstores," she said. "I moved to Indianapolis, and there were no neighborhood bookstores. I could not believe it. I had to do something about this. Why does a city with one and a half million residents not have a general interest bookstore? I can't believe how happy the people in this city are to have a general interest independent bookstore. They walk in and tell me, 'thank you,' 'thank you!' So far, so good. I hope it continues."
With a month of retail under her belt, Barden reports that fiction titles are most popular, followed by science books, "anything graphic or illustrated," then children's titles, including books for 'tweens and teens.
Barden is convinced that her bookstore fills a much-needed niche for book lovers in the Indianapolis metro area. "People come in, they talk to other customers and to us for hours," she said. "Patrons want personalized service for books they've decided in advance they want or they want to find books that excite them. And they want community."
