Although most retailers have temporarily shuttered their doors to the public in the wake of the pandemic, we still want to shine a light on some of the incredible bookspots around the world for you to visit when the travel ban is lifted. So cozy up with a warm tea and dive into our conversation with sales manager Dave Kelly of Blackwell’s Broad Street in Oxford.
How did your bookstore transition from concept to reality?
We opened over 140 years ago, so it’s a bit difficult to recollect, but I do know that it had been the dream of Benjamin Henry Blackwell to open a bookshop in Oxford even though some people in the book trade doubted the location opposite the Sheldonian Theatre and Bodleian Library. On opening an account with Macmillans, Frederick Macmillan said, “Very well Mr. Blackwell, we shall be pleased to open an account with you but I fear you have chosen the wrong side of the street to be successful.”
image via Blackwell’s
What do you feel is unique to your bookstore?
Many quirks, but most notably the Norrington Room which is a cavernous basement that runs beneath Trinity College offering over 3 miles of bookshelves. Many people come into our shop expecting it to be quite small but soon discover its vastness.
If you had infinite space, what might you add to the store?
Although we’re big, we’d always like more space for books… although, if I could do anything I would run an underground tunnel to our two dear neighbors the White Horse and the New Bodleian Library, providing swift access to both liquid and further literary refreshment.
How do you feel your bookstore fits into your local community?
Having been in Oxford for so long, which is such a book-loving city, we feel despite the competition that we are the natural second home of all local book lovers and visiting tourists and students.
What does your store offer that a chain or online retailer can’t?
The way our shop is particularly set up means that we have expertise across all subjects from translated fiction and poetry to religion and science, so we’re able to help readers of all ages and abilities. Our Classics bookseller has been with us for fifty years and knows as much as most Oxford Dons! Events are crucial for us, particularly our monthly ‘Philosophy in the Bookshop’ or annual theatre in the bookshop where the local Creation Theatre takes over the Norrington room and performs every evening.
image via Blackwell’s
Do you hand-pick your staff to create a specific environment?
Absolutely a love of books, bookshops, and recommendation is crucial and then we try to align each bookseller with their preferred subject area.
How else do you create a welcoming environment?
There’s a fine line between welcoming and offering assistance whilst allowing our visitors to browse in comfort. We feel as though we manage it well and want the shop to be their shop as much as it is ours.
What about your store do you think appeals to your neighborhood?
The sheer vast range of books, knowledge, and friendliness means that everyone can trust us with anything – quite often not even book related!
image via Blackwell’s
Do you have any staff picks or releases we should watch out for?
We’re slightly biased about Daisy Johnson as she used to be a bookseller with us, but she is truly outstanding, her first two books Fen and Everything Under were brilliant but her new book Sisters is a masterpiece – all our booksellers have been gripped by it and fighting (nicely) over proofreading copies.
Do you tailor your inventory according to your community?
Being so big, some customers expect us to have everything, which of course even we can’t – (although our neighbors the Bodleian Library do!) We’re still really lucky to be able to offer choice in all areas though, and part of my job is looking at trends in the shop and adapting the size of sections to suit what our customers want. We’ve recently expanded our Social Science and Philosophy sections, for example, and have provided a more prominent space for memoirs.
Is there anything else that you’d like our audience to know?
So many stories from our past, but every book lover should know that we used to also publish books and were the first publisher of J R R Tolkien for his children’s poem Goblin’s Feet. Dorothy Sayers used to be Sir Basil Blackwell’s secretary, too!
There you have it, our wonderful book spot of the week! Don’t you want to teleport there right now? If you have a book place that’s special to you too, contact us through any of our social media platforms and you might just see them here next week!
featured image via Blackwell’s
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