“As more people spend more time online, they are looking for deeper ways to spend time with the community,” said Ryan Raffaelli, a Harvard Business School assistant professor who has studied indie bookstores’ reinvention. “Independent bookstores have become anchors of authenticity. This is almost like a social movement.”

The desire to be part of the community is drawing other entrepreneurs. Barb Short, 53, who works in corporate citizenship and philanthropy in Madison N.J. , said she felt the calling in 2014 after the local bookstore that was a big part of her children’s lives was flooded and the owner decided not to reopen. But she had a full-time job and zero bookstore retailing experience.

She turned to the crowdfunding site Kickstarter to raise $18,500, which she used to open Short Stories Bookshop & Community Hub with her daughters, then 12 and 14. She also took the advice of a friend to study those in the industry that had survived. Her lesson: “Bookstores are becoming arts and culture hubs,” she said. “They are filling that gap in community. It’s a social entrepreneurship venture.”

About half of Short Stories’ space is basically a lounge area — decorated with a piano, a sofa, a guitar and an art gallery — that “people claim as their living room,” Ms. Short, 53, said.

The store’s events include author talks, opera recitals, open mic nights as well as birthday and engagement parties, which generate extra revenue. It also has a cafe to help “monetize the space,” she said.

That level of interaction has helped independent bookstores stand out, said Oren Teicher, the chief executive of the American Booksellers Association and a 30-year industry veteran.