Welcome back to bookspot of the week! This week, we chatted with Michael Woodson, the editorial and marketing manager of Blue Manatee Literacy Project (BMLP) in Cinicinnati, OH. He is also the co-host of BMLP’s podcast, “Book It!” With a welcoming atmosphere and a non-profit effort to help children in need, this is one bookspot you don’t want to miss out on!
via Blue manatee literacy project
How did your bookstore transition from concept to reality?
BMLP was formerly a children’s bookstore for 30 years, and in 2019 was transformed into the non-profit organization called the Blue Manatee Literacy Project, where for every book purchased with us, we donate one to a child in need in the Cincinnati area. Now, we sell books for all ages–from baby to adult–and every single book bought goes towards those donated books. It’s a labor of love, with the absolute best team of hardworking book lovers.
What do you feel is unique to your bookstore?
The staff. We have the most knowledgeable staff in the independent bookstore world, promise! One of our booksellers is a children’s book illustrator and author, another has been a librarian for over fifteen years…for all of us, it’s not just a job. It’s a passion.
via blue manatee literacy project
If you had infinite space, what might you add to the store?
What a question! Honestly, more books! But our book buyer is so smart and knows how to stock what little space we have now. But honestly, yeah, just more books if we could!
How do you feel your bookstore fits into your local community?
Throughout the COVID crisis, it’s been the community that has made all of the extra work so worth it. Our community of readers aren’t just customers to us. We know them by name, we know what to recommend to them, they come in for our story times weekly…we would be nothing without the BMLP community.
via Blue Manatee Literacy Project
What does your store offer that a chain or online retailer can’t?
We’re memory-makers. Whether you come to BMLP once or you come weekly, we want you to remember your experience with us forever. We’ve had teachers come in to buy books who tell us their parents brought them to the store when they were kids. Now with the non-profit, we want to extend that even farther. Our goal is to get books into the hands of every single child in our city, and so many children in disadvantaged neighborhoods don’t have access to books for any number of reasons, and we want to change that. We want to bring the joy of reading to all children, no matter where they come from.
Do you hand-pick your staff to create a specific environment?
So much of the staff came to BMLP from the retail space’s previous life. Many of us worked for Blue Manatee when it was a children’s bookstore. All of us chose to stay on during its transition over to a non-profit. I don’t think any of us want to leave ever.
via Blue Manatee Literacy Project
How else do you create a welcoming environment?
No customer walks in without a greeting from us. No customer doesn’t get a book picked out specifically for them. Our story times are free to the public. We have authors come and do visits, partnering with local schools so students can meet them. We go out of our way to order in titles that we don’t have. Honestly, everyone is a friend to us. The opening song to our story time says it all: “Welcome, welcome, everyone!”
What about your store do you think appeals to your neighborhood?
I think transitioning from strictly a children’s bookstore to a non-profit that carries books of all ages told the neighborhood that you don’t need to be a parent to spend time with us. We’re among a strip of a lot of local businesses, and we’ve really fit into that community well.
via Blue Manatee Literacy Project
Do you have any staff picks or releases we should watch out for?
We’re all anxiously awaiting Jacqueline Woodson’s newest title “Before the Ever After.” I personally love reading debut novels and talking up new writers. I read a book called “The Golden State” by Lydia Kiesling not too long ago, and it’s one of the best debut books I’ve ever read. There’s a picture book coming out next fall called “Baby Monster” that I think every single parent will want on their shelves for sure!
Is there anything else that you’d like our audience to know?
We simply aren’t able to do what we do without our community, or the book-loving community at large. Whether people are buying books through us, or making a direct donation to our literacy project on our website, it all makes a difference. We want to grow and grow and grow and grow, and we intend to.
You can catch Manatee Book Literacy Project on Instagram at @bluemanateebooks for even more bookish content! Do you know of a book shop worthy of a spotlight on our site? Contact us through any of our socials and you may just find it here next week.