Group 1 - Story

The following are paragraphs composed by each of our group memebers. We hope to use these as the base for the supporting points of our white papers.

Supporting independent business in local areas is not only an issue of morality, it can put money back into the community. In a study by Civic Economics in 2007 of two paper suppliers in Arizona, it is clearly shown that revenue is recirculated locally by a number three times greater when compared to an outsourced or corporate conglomerate. This means that the money put into local businesses will support the community at a much higher rate than one that is not locally driven. By keeping a larger portion of money in one's surroundings instead of sending it to no man's land, an environment is created where business and more importantly, people, can flourish.

An article from a current student at Harvard University states some ideas we really latched onto. His name is David Kornhaber and he has written several pieces of literature that have been given several awards. I really like the way he wrote his thoughts on independent bookstores. He has some really good facts as well to go along with it. He talks about how not only independent bookstores are in a crisis but writers in general are suffering from the loss of independent bookstores. I just thought this was a good article for everyone to read to get an idea of what independent bookstores and the people that back them feel about this topic. It goes along with what Charles is saying about passion. He writes:

“Nor could he have imagined an age during which some of the most respected publishers and booksellers in existence would close within years of one another. But this is the world in which we live: a world in which the economic ascendancy of book superstores like Barnes & Noble and Borders has produced a crisis in the literary world.”

For marketably, we found some sites that helped us come up with some ideas of how to emotionally attach with those. From an article, we found that a major pull for independent bookstores is their uniquness and genuity. Unlike major chain bookstores, when you walk into a privately owned one, you know that the people operating it really care about literature and are extremely knowledgable in the subject. If you need suggestions on what book suits your needs, you know you will always be treated individually and helped in a personable and sincere manner. Another way to get the bookstores name out, is to join associations made for indpendent business owners. The following website we found is a great example of a group of people and independent businesses coming together to show support and get their names out: http://www.independentnepa.com/index.html.