A SMALL bookshop in Wester Ross has created a flutter in the Twittersphere as retailers across Scotland reopened on Monday after the lockdown.
Ullapool Bookshop was given a welcome boost ahead of the reopening by managing to increase its followers from fewer than 600 to 7000 in just a few days with authors Ian Rankin, Liam McIlvanney and Jenni Fagan adding to the number.
The bid to increase Twitter followers is just one of the innovative ways independent bookshop owners and staff have employed to maintain support during the pandemic.
Last Monday marked the first time they have been able to open their shops all year, making business “unbelievably challenging”, according to Meryl Halls, managing director of the Booksellers Association.
She said she was delighted to see Scottish bookshops reopen and encouraged people to support their local bookseller.
“We know the impact of bookshops on a high street and a local economy, and we know the importance of a vibrant and diverse retail community – both are a key part of the Covid recovery process for a weary population, hungry for connection and inspiration,” she said.
In Ullapool, manager Katharine Douglas [inset] had the idea of increasing the number of the shop’s Twitter followers by four to 600. She was astounded when book lovers, authors and publishers across the globe responded to the appeal, with Rankin pointing out the shop was opposite a bar and fish and chip shop.
“Ticks my boxes!” he said.
From New Zealand, McIlvanney tweeted a picture of himself outside Ullapool Bookshop saying: “Fabulous shop. Look forward to returning some day.”
David C Weinczok, author of The History Behind Game of Thrones, said he couldn’t wait to return to the shop, while Fagan asked her followers: “Please follow Ullapool Bookshop. They are great.”
Douglas said the response had been “phenomenal”.
“It just went crazy,” she said. “We will keep building support on social media and the website as the online side has actually grown a bit which is great. We have had a lot of support from local people as well as people who have visited Ullapool in the past and remember the shop.”
The bookshop also launched in November last year with the new alternative website for ordering books, bookshop.org, which supports independent bookshops throughout the UK.
“You choose what bookshop you want to support and it seems to be taking off as it has broken £1 million in sales since the launch,” said Douglas. “It’s a great alternative and has very quick shipping.”
However, while online orders have kept business ticking over during the pandemic, she said sales were still down.
“You can’t beat being able to browse in a bookshop and a lot of people are pleased to see we are open again,” she said. “We’ve not had mad queues but it has been steady all week. I think people’s confidence will take a little while to return but I do think it will be a busy summer.”
In Edinburgh, Mairi Oliver, owner of the Lighthouse bookshop, said she was “euphoric” about being able to reopen.
“We were lucky because we were able to pivot online pretty quickly and we have been able to continue to sell online throughout the lockdowns but there is no substitute for having people in front of you talking about books, responding to recommendations and getting excited about displays you have made,” she said. “Everyone has found that energy and that joy in doing what we do again.
“We have had a little queue semi-permanently outside, so it has been a good week. People are just desperate to come back out and show us support. They are exhilarated at being back in a physical space, talking to other humans again and they are excited about seeing books they have heard about but have not committed to buying online.”
In Glasgow, Category Is Books is not due to open until the end of May as owners Charlotte and Fionn Duffy-Scott are waiting for their landlord to fix the ceiling which developed a leak during the second lockdown.
“We are still running home deliveries but if the pandemic has taught us anything it is that some things are out of your control and you have to be very philosophical,” Fionn said. “We keep getting messages from people asking when we are reopening which is really lovely. We’re looking forward to going back.”
The pair opened the LGBT bookshop in 2018 and felt they were just really getting known when the pandemic hit.
“There just wasn’t an LGBT bookshop in Scotland at that time and we were wanting to explore our own queer history and read books that represented the community,” said Fionn.
“We were always really busy and building up a regular crowd before the first lockdown but people have been really supportive and have stuck with us. This last lockdown has felt really long though so we are very excited to be going back.”
They are confident people will return as the bookshop is still the only LGBT one in Glasgow.
“People used to come and hang out with us so we are going to put out a lot more outdoor seating so they can still have the community feel,” Fionn said.
“We hope to eventually have an events programme again because we used to have something every single night and yoga classes before we opened. It is a very small shop and at a lot of events 30 or 40 people were crammed next to each other so that’s not going to happen for a long time.”
Before lockdown, they operated a “pay forward” shelf where people would buy a book and leave it so that someone else without the means to buy a book could take one home.
During the pandemic that moved online so that buyers paid into a fund when ordering their books, meaning that others who were struggling financially could benefit.
This fund has now totalled £6000 worth of books.
“That is one of the things we have been most proud of – it’s really nice to see people supporting others,” said Fionn.
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