Do Classic Novels Have The Shine?
Whenever you look at the latest bestseller list, know that it probably wonât look the same tomorrow. Today, bestseller lists have been created for any kind of genre and age group, rapidly changing every day. What are the methods in order to give off such influence? There is a possibility that book providers are all trying to get society to read certain titles, whether they need to gain profit from this or are funded. Taking a nationally known bookstore chain like Barnes & Noble and a government-funded place like the Connecticut State Library, the results varied greatly. The important question is if the formation of these lists lies in the hands of the readers or the book providers.
It was early afternoon when I walked into the Barnes & Noble store at Buckland Hills mall in Manchester, Connecticut. A wave carrying the smell of fresh coffee from the Starbucks inside filled my nose as I stepped through the main entrance. The aisles could be compared to rush hour traffic made up of the regular, avid reading customers and last minute shoppers looking for Easter-basket-fillers. While walking in the main entrance, no one can miss the giant NOOK stand. The counter was complete with nooks to play with, a blend of colorful cases and accessories, and a NOOK expert who was eager to tell me about the latest edition of the device and its features. This set up is no mistake by the major chainâitâs quite simple. The most expensive item they sell is where a good portion of profits is made. More people are likely to listen to what an expert has to say when they are stopped before beginning to browse the store. This advertising technique seemed to have worked on three people as I walked by.
As I walked deeper in the store, soon came the endless shelves of books to purchase. There were some books, however, that were given a special recognition. Before the general book aisles, there were individual tables all with a different theme of books. There were tables filled with this monthâs âBest Sellersâ in every genre imaginable. One table was even labeled âWhat Our Teenagers are Reading,â including popular titles such as The Hunger Games trilogy and many others, all seeming to either be paranormal romance or adventure themed. The really special titles got their own cardboard cut outs with cubbies to put fresh copies of the works in.
Near the entrance to the store from inside the mall and in front of the cash registers stood a table named â Classics: The Elegant Edition,â bringing out a slight chuckle from me. This table gave you a wide variety of works. There were typical novels of merit such as Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and Pride & Prejudice. However, included in this table were novels such as Jurassic Park, Sherlock Holmes, and even The Holy Bible. You could either buy one of the novels individually or there was the option of buying a pack of five classics all together. The elegance of these novels was shown through the hard covers with eye-drawing gold writing. The edges of the booksâ pages were painted with gold, adding shine and sense of delicacy that grabbed the attention of many people as they walked to the registers. The nearby table with the popular Game of Thrones series was no comparison to the shine and glamour of these collectibles. The normal, ânon-elegantâ versions of the classic novels were scattered across the Fiction and Literature section of the store but did not have as many viewers. One lingering question that has stayed with me is do people actually buy these âelegant classicsâ to read, or do they purchase them to simply use as decorations for bookshelves in their homes and offices to make others think theyâre intelligent. From what it seemed, the store was selling the design of book covers rather than the content. Overall, it is safe to say the store has been very successful. However, Barnes & Noble has not achieved such success by appealing to only adults. Another key market in book selling is children. How do you win the hearts of children today? Games
One interesting aspect of Barnes & Noble is that for a bookstore, they make sure to thrive in their games section. This exclusive area was filled with children dragging their parents by the arm to show the coolest toy they just had to have. The toys ranged from Star Wars action figures to Barbie dolls that could make anyone quickly forget that they were in a Barnes & Noble store and not an overly priced Toys R Us. In the back left corner of the store, signs were decorated with characters from Charlie Brown, smiling and introducing you to the childrenâs section that was filled with books. There were not nearly as many browsing children. Behind the displays of the latest kid favorites, there was one shelf of books with the label âClassicsâ that caught my eye. Tucked in the back to the right of the help desk, I was surprised to see titles such as Great Expectations and Jane Eyre to be among the books on the shelf. There is a brand of books called âClassic Startsâ that takes classic titles and re-writes them in a simpler way for children to understand without taking away from the actual plot. These books that give children the opportunity to be introduced to works of merit in a less intimidating manner were partially blocked by a display of Captain Underpants novels. It was clear the classic shelf was often neglected. The reality of the situation is children will prefer games to books. Bookstores realize that classic novels do not bring in as much revenue because readers tend to prefer whatever is currently on the bestseller list. Therefore, no major bookstore will go out of the way to advertise the books. With weak advertising and the intimidation they give off, it is expected to predict classic novels will not have a decent selling rate. Through the lack in sales of classic novels, Barnes & Noble has proven to be a key figure in the book selling industry. However, it took time to reach such success.
To give customers insight as to how it came about, Barnes & Noble has its own online history page. The page tells the story of Leonard Riggio, a New York University student starting the business by creating the âStudent Book Exchangeâ to serve and sell books to fellow students. By the 1970s, Riggio had several other bookstores and soon opened a store on Fifth Avenue called âThe Worldâs Largest Book Store.â Riggio took ownership of the name Barnes & Noble and his success continued to where the company is today. It was interesting to note how advertising was especially involved in the development of this company. The page said Barnes & Noble was the first book seller advertised on television. Seeing how much television has become apart of the advertising process in the rise of the digital era, Barnes & Noble was ahead of competitors from the start. The company has surely proved to be the dominant force of all booksellers.
It was the Monday after Easter when I went to the Connecticut State Library. It is located in the stateâs capitol, the city of Hartford. Next to the cityâs courthouse, parking was almost impossible. After walking up the marble stairs and going through a quick security check, you can either go strait into the building's museum or to the second floor where the library is located. The majority of the walls were covered with portraits of past Connecticut Supreme Court Justices. The high ceilings show beautifully architected images of carved wood and marble. To truly appreciate all the details would take about ten minutes of staring up at the ceiling. In the library, there are large shelves home to tens of thousands of books. However, there were not particular advertisements trying to sell any specific title. In the front was the handicapped section filled with braille-written and recorded novels, all ranging from books of merit to todayâs bestsellers. Down a hallway and on the left was the âClassics Section.â It featured titles such as A Tale of Two Cities, A Farewell to Arms, and The Great Gatsby, however, there were no visitors in this area at the time. There was a section with about twenty computers where I actually saw a middle-aged man watching Looney Tunes. Taking better advantage of time, there were students and some professionals using the available desks to do work on their computers while others were browsing in the legal resource area. This library was definitely dedicated more so to the study of law, especially since the Connecticut Supreme Court room is attached to the library. Therefore, the advertising of classic novels and todayâs bestsellers is not necessarily needed. Although it is a building known to many, the Connecticut State Library did not start out where it is today. The dedication of many individuals to give the people of Connecticut exposure to all kinds of works is what has given the library the noteworthiness it now holds.
According to the state libraryâs history page, the library celebrated its 150th anniversary of service to the people in 2004. The libraryâs first location was at the Old State House in Hartford. In 1854, Hammond Trumbull became the first State Librarian who helped the library obtain a second floor to store books. After a short, one year of service, Trumbull handed the job to Charles Jeremy Hoadly. The library soon moved to the stateâs Capitol Building. Over time, the library gained an astonishing amount of titles and visitors, many associated with or part of the Supreme Court. In 1908, the Connecticut State Library was re-built and attached to the Supreme Court building from which it still resides. It is no doubt that the main goal of the Connecticut State Library is to advertise the state and what makes it unique to others. One can only assume each state library focuses more on advertising information about their own state. With this goal in mind, this shows that there isnât much room to put effort into advertising classic novels.
All in all, both Barnes & Noble and the Connecticut State Library proved that there is an overall neglect in advertising classic novels to the public. The term "classic" has proven to go beyond just books of merit. Both places hold many books and receive many visitors. However, the advertising techniques of both varied because their locations and potential audiences are so different. While Barnes & Noble is a nationwide chain that must appeal to many, the Connecticut State Libraryâs job is to market Connecticut as a state and provide information for those who need it. Another reality is that people want to read whatâs on the bestsellers list. The very word is a seal of approval saying a certain book is worth the read. This proves to be the assurance people need to commit to any book. There are just some things a shiny book cover canât fix.
Source for history on Barnes & Noble:
http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/our_company/history/bn_history.html
Source for history on the Connecticut State Library:
http://www.ctstatelibrary.org/node/10057
