By Rebecca Saxon

Contributing writer

It's never been easier to judge a book by its cover.

You can download the summer's hottest novel to your phone, Kindle or iPad. You can roam national retailers like Barnes & Noble, Borders and Amazon.com and scan thousands of titles.

You can even pick up a New York Times best-seller along with your milk, bread and eggs at a local Wegmans or Price Chopper.

With so much retail competition, in an age of rapid-fire e-book technology, how can independent bookstores compete?



The answer seems to be paying attention to customers and their needs, according to the American Booksellers Association and a handful of independent bookstores in Central New York.

Despite enormous competition, the number of independent bookstores throughout the country is holding -- but only very recently, according to Oren Teicher, CEO of the booksellers association, which is based out of Tarrytown.

"The downward trend has been reversed. It's not an avalanche, but the numbers were better this year," Teicher said.

The association registered 10 more independent bookstores in 2010 than it had in 2009, for a total of 1,410 stores. It's a positive trend after decades of dwindling numbers, Teicher said.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Creekside Books and Coffee

7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday: Trivia night.

6 to 8 p.m. Thursday: History book club discussion.

6:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday: Open mike night with Joanne Perry.

7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday: Donna Colton + One.

7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday: The Sloppy Joes.



River's End Bookstore

2 p.m. Sept. 11: Discussion and book signing with Mark Allen Baker, author of "USA: Boxing in Upstate New York" (History Press).

7 p.m. Sept. 24: Authors from Uphook Press, a New York City based publisher specializing in work by poets and spoken word artists, will give a reading.



Downtown Books and Coffee

2 to 4 p.m. Saturday: Howard Ford book signing. Ford is the author of "Sure Signs" and will be signing his new book, "Some Call It Treason."



Stores such as Target, Wal-Mart, big-box media sellers and grocery stores are slicing the book business into smaller and smaller pieces but independent bookstores have found ways to hold their ground, Teicher said.

"They have faced competition in every form, but the fact is, they're still here," he said. "Independent stores are figuring out how to compete in this challenging environment."

More and more people are recognizing independent bookstores' role in the local economy, Teicher said. Evidence of this trend may even be seen affecting some of the biggest names in books. Barnes & Noble announced this month that the company's stock had fallen by half in 2010 and it may be looking for a buyer. At the top of the prospective buyer list: Amazon.com.

The key to success for independent stores, say bookstore owners and Teicher, is an independent store's ability to provide personalized customer service and cater to niche needs and wants, even if it means higher prices.

"Their extraordinary knowledge and passion about books and their ability to discern the right book to put into the customer's hand is what remains attractive," Teicher said.

Erika Davis opened Creekside Books & Coffee at 35 Fennell St., Skaneateles, six years ago. Her spa-like mantra of "relax, indulge and enjoy" has kept the bookstore and coffee shop competitive, despite feeling regular pressure from the big-box competition.

The 4,000-square-foot space carries about 10,000 titles, according to Davis. The store has dabbled in offering audio books and e-books but sales of both remain a small part of her business, Davis said.

She has found more success by hosting author readings and getting Creekside involved in community events.

"It was not just about opening a bookstore, but creating a community gathering place which had been previously missing," Davis said.

In 1998, Bill Reilly said he knew people in Oswego were buying books, but they didn't have a local place to shop for titles. He opened River's End Bookstore hoping to connect with the community and provide an oasis for local bookworms.

Reilly said his business has been successful because he's able to arrange the store to better fit his customers' needs.

"We're not wed to a corporate dictate so we have freedom and flexibility in the books we feature," he said. "The big guys' shelf space is spoken for and purchased by publishers who are pushing blockbuster titles."

River's End, which carries about 16,000 titles in 2,500 square feet, prides itself on organizing titles according to niche interests, local authors and staff favorites. He said his customers regularly stumble across "literary gems" they might not have found in a big-box retailer or online.

Reilly said his business has felt the recent economic pinch. He said he has sold fewer books in the last few years, since people are spending less, not because they are buying digital versions. He recognizes the emerging e-book business, though, and hopes to offer digital titles soon.

"If you want to download an audio book to listen to on your iPod, we want to be able to give you that, too," he said. "If I don't offer that ability, I'm limiting my total business."

Many independent bookstores, with full support from the American Booksellers Association, say e-books will be nothing but good for the business of print.

"The more titles and mediums that are being produced, the more need there will be for stores to curate content, either in an old-fashioned or a new digital way," Teicher said. "Sometimes people are going to want to curl up in a chair with their hardback book and sometimes they are going to want to read a book on a mobile device. The bookstore should progress and serve that customer no matter what."

Reilly said he has seen publicity from e-books and the devices that carry them -- most notably Amazon's Kindle and Apple's iPad -- create even greater interest in traditional book sales.

"Lots of publishers are putting out teasers in e-format for free, and readers want to pick it up," he said. "Are they all going to choose to pick up the traditional form? No, but a percentage will. The opportunity to increase the overall awareness of books could cause the sales to explode."

When The Bookery II, an independent bookstore in Ithaca, closed four years ago, Gary Weissbrot felt he had to fill the void for the reading community. He bought the store, renamed it Buffalo Street Books, and said he has built a strong community base.

Weissbrot said his store specializes in having "discriminating" taste.

He said he understands the comfort associated with big names like Barnes & Noble and likens it to an American eating McDonald's fast food in Paris -- a city known for its culinary talents. He said serendipitous discovery is what real book lovers prefer.

Reilly said many of his customers appreciate interacting with knowledgeable staff. They trade literary opinions and seek out recommendations from readers in the store, which Reilly says is fundamental to a bricks-and-mortar book business.

The new kid on the block in the Central New York books scene is Downtown Books and Coffee, 66 Genesee St., Auburn.



The 2,700-square-foot store had its grand opening June 19, and the community has been responding positively, according to manager John Colvin.



Colvin said he's already encountered many customers who seek out independent bookstores as an alternative to online retailers or big-box media sellers.



"People really want this to succeed, so they are willing to pay a couple dollars more," he said.



As for selling books online and e-books, Colvin said the store will wait to see if customers start asking for those products, and will be happy to provide them.



For now, though, Downtown Books and Coffee will continue to provide what's worked for other independent book sellers for decades: customer service and unique selection.



"You can't really put anything over that interaction between two book enthusiasts talking and handing a book to one another," Colvin said.