How did a Providence bookstore survive bankruptcy, e-books and Amazon? Amy Russo finds out

Fifteen years ago, Rod and Merc Clifton did something that probably no prudent person would advise. They bought a bankrupt business they had no experience running.

Around 2007, Rod came across a newspaper article detailing the woes of then-struggling Books on the Square in Providence's Wayland neighborhood. It was nearly two years into a receivership.

"It just kind of clicked with me," Rod said. His wife loves books, and even with several degrees in library science, playwriting and English, their son, Jeffrey, couldn't find decent work anywhere. At the store, he would be employed, Merc would be around books, and Rod, a now-retired Brown University engineering professor, could manage to make any necessary repairs. He has already tinkered with light fixtures and added wheels to the shelves to make them mobile.

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"I’m a very confident, positive type, and I don’t remember me being very disturbed," Rod said. "It looked to me like several pieces went together."

Rod and Merc wasted no time launching their mission to turn the store around. Plastering the windows with sheets of brown paper, they set to work. But to those outside the opaque panes, it looked as if the lights had been turned off for good.

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"The understanding in the neighborhood is it’s finally happened," Rod recalled. "Books on the Square has folded. But meanwhile they were scurrying around … in here. They were taking out the old inventory, bringing in through the back door new inventory, and we were only out three days, I think."

That's when the paper came down, and Books on the Square lived to see another day that turned into another decade and a half. All told, it has been in operation for 30 years, ringing in its anniversary in September.

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Optimism amid the retail gloom

But it wasn't always easy. According to store manager Jennifer Kandarian, business has grown consistently since Rod and Merc took over, but it operated at a loss in the beginning.

Now it must contend with the myriad of low-cost options online and the rise of e-books that have threatened to make the printed word a relic.

"It’s always upsetting when you see someone come in with their iPhone, look carefully [at it], you know what they’re doing," Rod said. "They’re pricing that book at Amazon, and then they’re figuring out I guess I’ll buy it on Amazon. But they’ve already read the first chapter here."

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Merc isn't worried. Anecdotes from people like her doctor, who opt to shop in-store rather than online, give her hope.

Merc reminisced about a past interview with a reporter who asked her about the changing market, questioning how she would turn a profit. Merc simply said it wasn't about money.

For her, the store is a sanctuary. Having grown up on a Nebraska farm with conservative parents, Merc didn't have much to read, at times scanning comics saved by a neighbor.

"It was also very isolating there, so my comfort was books, and I really enjoyed the few books I had," Merc said. "So a place like this is a real jewel in so many ways, in addition to the people I’ve met here."

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But there's still enough doom and gloom to discourage those who aren't up to the challenge. Google "bookstore closure," hop over to the "news" tab, and you'll find a stream of articles about mom-and-pop stores closing their doors, from Denver to Lubbock, Texas, to Middleburg, Virginia.

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Even bookselling behemoth Barnes & Noble has had to rethink its business strategy. As Forbes reported last year, when the company's future appeared uncertain, store managers were allowed to tailor their shelves to local preferences, meaning they could run shops with more of what people wanted.

That worked. Fast-forward to this year, and The New York Times ran a glowing feature on the chain's turnaround, giving credit in part to the shift in book selection and book buying — an emerging trend of which Rod has taken note.

"It turns out that there’s something about a bookstore and something about books. … Books are doing pretty well right now," Rod said. "People are buying books again. So the market has turned in our favor."

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The data proves it. According to Publishers Weekly, in 2021, printed book sales made a nearly 9% leap over the previous year, thanks in part to fiction — particularly graphic novels and fantasy. Not bad topics during a lingering real-life pandemic.

Through it all, Books on the Square is holding fast to its purpose: to cultivate readers. To this day, it refuses to sell sweatshirts, and you'll only find one earring rack in the shop.

As Rod puts it, "This is a real bookstore."

Providence Journal staff writer Amy Russo, a transplanted New Yorker, is looking for new ways to experience her adopted state. If you have suggestions for this column, email her at amrusso@providencejournal.com.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence bookstore celebrates 30 years in business after bankruptcy