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3 years, 5 months ago

What are some of the best uses of Technology in a bookstore or library?

Looking to add some "hi-tech" features to a small bookstore and want to know what we could do to make a really excellent experience for patrons. Flat screen TVs, (what content specifically?) computer terminals, interaction with other local businesses/community.
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mjeezy's Avatar
mjeezy | 3 years, 5 months ago
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My grocery store does a thing where they have flat screen TVs stationed throughout the store. They use them to show daily specials, the weather, and breaking news. You could do something similar, with descriptions of new books, sales, and other news. This would make it enjoyable to come to your store and help people pick what they want.

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mjeezy | 3 years, 5 months ago Report

You could list community events on it.

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ginerc | 3 years, 5 months ago Report

This is what I have been thinking about so far. I like this idea, but I'm still hoping to find some additional, really ingenious, ideas. I'd like to emphasize helpfulness and a sense of community (the type of things Barnes and Noble isn't always able to offer.)

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loopy1 | 3 years, 5 months ago
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The best use, by far, is to automate all of those tasks that keep you from spending time with your customers! If you are doing inventory, point of sale, or accounting by hand, then spend some money there first. If you already have those things covered, then I would work on having terminals where customers can lookup inventory. Nothing is more frustrating than having to manually search for a book.

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bohacek | 3 years, 5 months ago
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The small bookstore or any other for that matter needs to place service first. The can not compete in price and they offer almost the same items as any other bookstore. So having said that use technology to that effect. Such things as being able to find an item in the store with a search on the monitor. Another suggestion would be to allow the table of contents, or excerpt of a book to be read in the store if it is not in stock on the shelves. Keeping track of previous purchases made in the store and make suggestions based on that is yet another idea

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tboz | 3 years, 5 months ago
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The best use of technology for libraries and bookstores would be to offer all books online for download onto your computer or kindle e-book device. Think about the pollution saved if everyone didn't drive to the bookstore or library but downloaded it (with a paid or free-but-limited-to-research membership) online. some libraries are going this route but not fast enough and not very many. Go to archive.org and read about the guy who started it, his vision was to have all the information in the world of print media accesable to anyone who could access a computer he has already catologed millions pieces of media

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darth continent | 3 years, 5 months ago
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I worked for a local public library for several years.

They offered free public access terminals with a reservation system tied in to public users' library cards, and also a free public-access wifi hotspot for users with laptops.

Wifi is an inexpensive way to make anything from a cafe to a bookstore more inviting. I've visited lots of such places where the convenience of having wireless available has made things much more enjoyable.

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craigpearce | 3 years, 5 months ago
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you know this may be not what you want to hear, but my favourite type of book store is one with a complete lack of technology, the filiing system alphabetical, the music bbc radio 2, the owners people that look like they have read all their life. if i want to buy a book quickly ill go online, if I want to go to a book store ill go somewhere like this and enjoy the experience.

attached is my local store that does exactly this

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ginerc | 3 years, 5 months ago Report

I can completely sympathize with your desire to be in a low tech store/library. I know it's nice to be able to browse and read in a more relaxed atmosphere, but I'm curious what things people can come up with that are really amazing and maybe couldn't be pulled off by a big corporation.

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offthedome | 3 years, 5 months ago
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Computer terminals with paid internet is an idea. I'd put TV on a book channel or an bookwormy educational channel like an interview channel.

It would be cool if you sold one of those hand-held electronic book holders. They go for a pretty penny, and they are worth it to a lot of people.

Also, I like bookstores that offer free coffee.

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sixhoursago | 3 years, 5 months ago
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Here in Portland, OR I often shop at Powell's Books. The place is gigantic. Placed throughout the store are terminals offering a searchable database of every item in stock. It will tell you what room the item is located (rooms are color-coded) and even what shelf it is on. A quick click takes you to a map of the entire store. It's very helpful not only for finding what you're looking for, but also finding your way around.

This system is also integrated with the bookseller's website, powells.com, which has been selling books online since the pre-Amazon days of the Internet. When looking up a book on the website, it informs you whether the book is available at any of the local locations.

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ginerc's Avatar
ginerc | 3 years, 5 months ago Report

That sounds like a really helpful thing to have. (it could apply to just about any large store, clothing, food, etc.) I like that it ties into the local stores as well.

Can we come up with any ways that a bookstore in a town could offer information/services that extend beyond just books? It could promote local events possibly?

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lynemma's Avatar
lynemma | 3 years, 5 months ago
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I think free access technology in public libraries is the clearest and easiest way to bridge the digital divide.

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temoc's Avatar
temoc | 3 years, 5 months ago
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Search books through database queries, by a series of features like by
Author
Title
Number of pages
Font size
Chances for the general reader to finish reading it.
Who is the prologuer.
How many user reviews had casted good vs bad reviews.
Genre
Weight
Size
Dimensions
How many graphics in ti
Paper type (how green the book is "recycled material")
Is the book already a movie.
Used book.

An excellent experience for patrons will be one that makes the sells go up.
You don't want to make the book store like a theme park.

I think, that could be an interesting use of tech in a bookstore.

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toddgilmore | 3 years, 5 months ago
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i'll probably fail on this answer glancing at some of these answers because i think too big. though this might not be a practical answer for your bookstore, i really liked that the movie time travel where the guy goes into the future and pulls up information i think on a hologram machine of a person. so maybe, all small libraries in the future could have such device which looks amazingly "high tech" like a real teleportec system that has already been invented. it probably wouldn't be too hard to have one person or hologram team that serves all small libraries for a fee, although i have no idea how much it would take to do this. check out the site, maybe they have some solutions for cool face to face knowledge applications.

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contactshosho | 3 years, 5 months ago
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it would have to be the 3d modelling, searching for a topic or a book results in a multi number digit code referring to its location along with a 3d view of where its located along with its softcopy and wether it is present in any other library in case its not in this one.

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