Local Booksellers Favor Local Currency

            Local bookstores are a meeting ground for community.  Here a reader discovers a new author, customers discuss the perfect Jane Austen novel for a teenage girl, and authors pitch their books to open minded storeowners.   The independent spirit of the southern Berkshires is enlivened by its bookstores.   The Bookloft, Stockbridge Booksellers, and Yellow House Books each present a unique idea of what a bookstore should offer.

Thriving independent bookstores go beyond good business.  They offer eclectic selections of titles, reflective of the owner's preferences and customer demands.  Eric Wicska, owner of The Bookloft has been accused of stocking his shelves with a political bent.  To him, a good business is a representation of his beliefs.  These three bookstores are airing their beliefs, both by what they sell and how they have chosen to sell it.

The local currency BerkShares was launched just over two months ago and the Bookloft, Stockbridge Booksellers, and Yellow House Books were there from the beginning.  A community hot spot taking a community currency seems almost reflexive, but two storeowners have differing reasons for participating in the BerkShares program.  John Lippmann of Stockbridge Booksellers was looking for a way to link his environmental and agricultural economic background to the functioning of a bookstore.  He sees BerkShares connecting all aspects of a local economy through a tangible tool, currency.

For Bonnie Benson, owner of Yellow House Books, the choice to accept BerkShares was intuitive.  To her, accepting BerkShares is supporting the local economy that has included her business for the last 16 years. 

As BerkShares have caught on Lippmann has seen a steady flow moving through his till.  He says they are going out as fast as they are coming in.  At Yellow House Books trade in BerkShares has taken on a new form.  In addition to taking BerkShares for purchases, Benson has purchased used books from sellers using the currency.  Buying a book with BerkShares supports not just the bookstore, but also every local business that supplies the needs of that store.  Whether those BerkShares go to Kwik Print, Zenn New Media, Berkshire Co-op Market, Gorham and Norton, or book scouts, they will be part of the community.

Both Lippmann and Benson report that customers are taking pride in using BerkShares.  Their customers bring in BerkShares for the same reason he accepts them.  "Customers are using BerkShares to support local issues," states Lippmann,  "the currency has given people the words to describe the value of their local economy."

Use BerkShares to add a new book to your collection from your local bookstore this holiday season.

By Michael Gordon