There’s a romance to thumbing through pages leisurely amid rows of shelves lined with books of all genres, particularly in an independent bookstore. The intangible presence of ideas and the weight of words punctuate the search for that perfect read, whether intended for escape or broadening the mind.
Rural booksellers throughout Illinois are serving purposes greater than providing a mere retail outlet. It may be preserving history and the words of authors that younger generations may not recognize or encouraging parents to read to their children. It could be knowing customers and what they like in order to connect readers with books they’ll love but may not know exist. It might be continuing a long-held tradition in the community.
Whatever that greater purpose may be, all have a few things in common — a distinct personality, a love of books and community, and the ability to create a safe place open to ideas that often also serves as a local venue for creatives.
Preserving important works
Decades ago, former Rural Electric Convenience Cooperative members John and Jeannie Alexander opened the doors to Books on the Square in Virden. Today, three buildings on East Jackson Street house thousands of titles in the Alexanders’ flagship store. In 2017, the couple opened another shop in downtown Springfield.
“We’ve spent a lot of years doing this,” says John. “They flew by quickly.”
Years prior, John was a political science professor and one of the original faculty members at Lincoln Land Community College, where Jeannie also taught public speaking.
“I had been teaching at the college level a few years and was kind of burned out,” he explains. “[I] decided I wanted to do my own thing. I grew up in a retail family … I was interested in Illinois history and Illinois politics, and teachers get a lot of books free … so that kind of got me started.”
The couple first moved into the retail arena with antiques, health food and a few books. Eventually, they decided that books were really where their interests lie.
“The first thing someone will say when they come in the store, especially for the first time, is [that] it smells like books, and I think that’s a compliment,” laughs Jeannie. “There are people who still want to hold a book in their hand.”
For John and Jeannie, one of the most special aspects of owning an independent bookstore is the role it plays in preserving and passing on important works of fiction and nonfiction.
The couple often travels in search of rare books in good condition.
“We’ll go within a certain radius to look,” says Jeannie. “John’s particular about condition, and he loves it when he sees a book he’s never seen before.”
Their passion is obvious in the sheer number of books in their Virden location, previously occupied by John’s father’s shoe business. Between the two, the family has been on Virden’s square for 77 years.
Word of their inventory has gotten around over the years. “People who are into books find out about us by talking to other book people,” John says. “Most of them talk among themselves, and over 35 years of, I hope, treating people right, we get a lot of word-of-mouth recommendations from customers.”
While Jeannie says customers love the cluttered ambiance of the Virden store, there’s a historic charm to the Springfield location.
“Part of the magic is that this building was built in 1854, so [Abraham] Lincoln was living in Springfield when [it] was built,” says John. “When it opened, the second floor [housed] the mayor’s office, and the mayor was William Herndon, Lincoln’s law partner. I don’t know how many times Lincoln walked up these stairs. … We can feel him here.”
Equipping the next generation
“Books were always my first love,” says Mary Olson, owner of Prairie Fox Books in Ottawa.
Olson, who has a degree in education and secondary education, opened the store in 2016 and owns the shop with her daughter Gabriella.
Among the store’s staff are her son Ethan and part-time employee Patty Wagner, who teaches seventh grade literature. “In the past, [I’ve had] other teachers working for me, and in my experience, teachers are the best employees to have,” says Olson. “They’re used to multitasking; they’re used to dealing with different personalities. They’re used to doing stuff all the time, all day long. They’re just a good fit.”
She believes independent bookstores like hers offer people unabridged access to the written word. She emphasizes that all people are welcome. “Even libraries are seemingly falling to the banning of books and whatnot. So, you can curate your collection,” Olson explains. “As a person who was a teacher and who loved reading to my own children, I don’t think people do that enough anymore, and it’s essential for people to learn how to think and to learn how to analyze. … This is the fundamental thing that you need for the rest of your life.”
Her favorite genres are children’s books and middle-grade books. “They’re so much better than when we were kids. … Everybody loves the classic [quality] of Nancy Drew, but you read it, and the writing is so stilted and just so different than what we have nowadays,” says Olson. “The books [now] cover so many subjects, social subjects and family issues. [They] deal with hard topics, and they’re well written. And picture books are not only an introduction to reading and stories, but to artwork.”
Olson believes it is also important to give writers who publish independently an opportunity to show and sell their books. As a result, Prairie Fox does consignment with local authors and hosts an annual Lit Fest featuring their works.
Creating connections
CONFLUENCE BOOKS PHOTOS COURTESY OF SUZANNE ASATURIAN
Egyptian Electric Cooperative Association members Sarah Heyer and her husband Lee Hartman own Confluence Books in Carbondale and have been open for business for five years. “I see us as doing a service for the community, to take books that somebody doesn’t need anymore and to find a reader for those books,” she says.
Heyer was previously the director of Keep Carbondale Beautiful, a nonprofit that initiates, plans and directs cooperative efforts in litter control, recycling, community beautification and environmental education with the message “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.” “I see the bookstore as ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ [as well],” she says.
Named in reference to the region, the bookstore’s logo shows the Mississippi and Ohio rivers coming together in the pages of an open book. A star represents Carbondale’s location. “It’s a great metaphor for the streams of books and … keeping things flowing,” Heyer explains. “[Keeping] the flow of books going in and out to people who want them.”
The shop’s location in Carbondale also has meaning. The historic Stotlar House was built in 1917 and was the home of a university professor.
“There [are] people who come in who had him as a teacher. It’s fun to have people come in and say, ‘I remember this house. This was the dining room. I remember playing in this house when I was a kid.’ [The professor’s] daughter came and visited a couple times, and she said, ‘That room upstairs, that’s where my father was born, and that was my room in high school. I used to climb out on the porch and sneak out at night,’” Heyer shares with a laugh.
While they see a lot of Southern Illinois University students, she says half of their traffic is first-time customers. “We get a lot of college students — the more bookish ones. They’re repeat customers,” she says. “Graduate students might be more common than undergraduates, because they have been here for a little while, [but] a lot of people say, ‘I’ve been driving past this place for years and finally came in.’”
Her favorite part of the day is connecting someone with a book she has found.
“I obviously don’t know all my customers, but I know a lot of them. So, when I see a book, sometimes it makes me think of a certain person, and then I can contact that person and say, ‘Hey, this book just came in, and I thought of you,’” she explains. “Making connections is what I like to do.”
Furthering a legacy
More than 20 years ago, McDonough Power Cooperative members Rick and Linda Cox picked up the baton to carry on a longstanding institution in their Macomb community — the local independent bookstore. Today, feline floor managers Pickle and Jocko keep a watchful eye while greeting visitors to New Copperfield’s Book Service on the town square, though they leave book sales to their human counterparts.
“We’re just the most recent in a long line of independent bookstores in Macomb since before the Civil War,” says Linda. Previously, she worked at another local bookstore. When it suddenly closed, community members panicked.
“They announced on the radio they were going to close. By five o’clock that night, we had seven people asking us to open a bookstore,” she explains. A friend of a friend told her, “Even if you just have a little nook someplace … we need a bookstore in this town.” Linda spoke to her previous employer, who, in exchange for keeping “Copperfield’s” in the name, worked out a deal for the bookcases and other items.
When the new shop opened, cookbooks and Civil War accounts were all the rage. Today, its owners are most proud of their regional authors section. Along the way, Linda says the ability to adapt to changing tastes is what has kept them in business.
“We keep changing,” she says. “We’re attuned to what people in this area are buying.” Another aspect that sets New Copperfield’s apart is their focus on local authors. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the shop frequently hosted author events and live music.
“Indie bookstores are sensitive to what their local people want, and their survival depends on being able to clue into [that], and having events, whether it be musical or authors or whatever, [keeps us] deeply involved with the community,” she says.
A team effort
Some rural booksellers operate outside the traditional brick-and-mortar storefront. JCE Co-op member P.J. HarteNaus and her daughter, Kelly Bishop, the women behind Whistleslick Press in Galena, sell P.J.’s books both online and on location from the bed of their farm-truck-turned-bookmobile, affectionately named Mary Jane.
They started Whistleslick to self-publish and market P.J.’s books after frustrating experiences with traditional publishers.
“I ended up finding somebody who accepted the book, and I was just thrilled,” P.J. says. “I had no idea then what I was in for. … It was expensive, and they flattered you ’til the cows came home. … Then they disappeared.” The company was what is known in the industry as a vanity printer.
“You tried to call them, [but] there was nobody there,” she continues. “It was a mess. I thought, ‘I will never do this again.’”
PHOTO COURTESY OF INVASIVE MEDIA
P.J. did, however. Using a different printer for her second book, a similar scenario unfolded. She decided to go a different route the next time. Kelly was studying interior architectural design in San Diego, but when she visited home, she applied her design skills to her mother’s third book.
“When we were working on P.J.’s third book, we were approached by a couple authors who said, ‘You know, I’ve got a story, and I’ve always wanted it told … how did you guys do it?’” says Kelly. “That’s when we decided to help others self-publish their books.”
Since then, Whistleslick has expanded beyond retail.
“We introduce [writers] to our contacts and vendors so they can continue moving forward. We help throughout the whole process,” Kelly explains. Their network includes illustrators, an editor and a printer, who can all be hired directly by the author.
According to both, taking the middleman out of the process allows authors the freedom to not only direct their own marketing efforts, but also to have a voice in how their words are illustrated. Another advantage is a speedier process.
That process basically walks new self-publishers from start to finish. “We do the introduction with illustrators. We do the introduction with the editor, and all the way down to the end, the printer,” says Kelly. “We’re there to help with the storyboarding and work alongside the author and the illustrator. We’re there to help [communicate] with the printer.
“It’s an honor for us to help.”
Books on the Square
153 E. Jackson St., Virden
427 E. Washington St., Springfield
217-965-5443
booksonthesquare.com
Prairie Fox Books
719 LaSalle St., Ottawa
815-433-7323
prairiefoxbooks.com
Confluence Books
705 W. Main St. Suite 100, Carbondale
618-525-9740
confluencebooks618.com
New Copperfield’s Book Service
120 N. Side Square, Macomb
309-837-3052
facebook.com/NewCopperfields
Whistleslick Press
630-639-6008
whistleslickpress.com
