by Casey Coonerty Protti

As the recession has played out over the last year, I have found myself in many conversations with concerned customers about the health and vitality of Bookshop Santa Cruz. My response is always that we are lucky to have such loyal customers, and with their support we are making our way through the downturn.

However, without trying to sound like a broken record, I usually add that it is not the economy or e-books or even Borders that threatens our survival the most—it is Amazon.com. If I had to choose one way in which customers could help us survive and thrive, it would be, in any given month, to purchase one fewer book at Amazon, and one more book at Bookshop or bookshopsantacruz.com. I call it the “One Book Pledge” and with it you can be assured that you are doing your part to keep jobs in the local community, authors coming to town, and sales tax in the hands of local schools and libraries.

I recognize, however, that Bookshop also has to do our part to offer the services that customers want. To that end, Bookshop Santa Cruz is proud to announce the launch of a new and improved www.bookshopsantacruz.com, designed with the goal of adding more value to your book-buying experience. Check out our new user-friendly design, order books online with either quick shipping or in-store pick up, discover our new selection of e-books, and peruse pages and pages of unique local content, with recommendations, contests, local bestsellers, and features on local authors. Here is a quick peek at the new www.bookshopsantacruz.com:

Ordering Online
Bookshop Santa Cruz has over 30,000 titles in our store but we have over 1.2 million titles online. Most people don’t know that we partner with a warehouse in order to offer online customers a larger selection of books and ship directly to your house more quickly. This means that you will receive your online book order in the same time it takes Amazon to deliver. However, Bookshop Santa Cruz also offers the option of picking up your online orders in the store, so that you don’t have to pay shipping.

Unique Local Content
If bookshopsantacruz.com is anything, it is local. We believe that our website, like our store, should represent our community and highlight those things that make us unique. Ever wonder what other Santa Cruzans have on their bookshelves? Check out the page “What is Santa Cruz Reading?,” where we feature our bestsellers from various sections. Want to find out about the books that Bookshop staff members are enjoying? We’ve posted tons of staff recommendations, displays, and in-store newsletters on the site. Want to see what our local authors are producing? Our “All Things Santa Cruz” page showcases many of the superb books by local authors and historians. Go to our gifts page to buy exclusive “Keep Santa Cruz Weird” and “Read” t-shirts, bumperstickers, and mugs to send to all your friends who love Santa Cruz, too!

e-Books
The bookselling industry is changing at a rapid pace and Bookshop is committed to staying ahead of the curve. Our website now sells over 220,000 e-book titles compatible with the Sony e-Reader, computers, and a variety of handheld devices using Adobe, Palm, and Microsoft platforms. Search for any book and click on the e-book tab to get the electronic version, while continuing to support your local bookstore.

Author Events
Bookshop hosts several author events each month, featuring the latest work from the authors that inspire us the most. On www.bookshopsantacruz.com, you can see a weekly or monthly listing of our upcoming author events and, new to the site, you can now pre-order signed copies of books from most of our events. We hope that you will check out bookshopsantacruz.com and try ordering from us, if you haven’t already. We promise to offer you the same personal customer-service experience you get in our store, and you can feel good knowing that you are supporting a locally owned independent business from the comfort of your own home.

SPECIAL OFFER!
FREE SHIPPING on orders of $50 or more! Friday, November 27th–Thursday, December 31st, 2009 Simply place your $50+ order on bookshopsantacruz.com and the shipping is free—no special code or coupon needed.