<story><title>Barnes and Noble&apos;s surprising turnaround</title><url>https://tedgioia.substack.com/p/what-can-we-learn-from-barnes-and</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>hn_throwaway_99</author><text>A few years ago Austin opened up a new main public library. When it was being proposed I thought &amp;quot;why are we spending millions and millions on a library in the digital age?&amp;quot;.&lt;p&gt;Boy was I wrong, and I&amp;#x27;ll happily eat crow for how wrong I was. The new library building is beautiful, super inviting and some of my favorite architecture anywhere. I love going there to work or read. They also do a great job making the building welcoming and accessible to all, while at the same time preventing it from getting trashed by the homeless (looking at you SF public library) with a simple no sleeping&amp;#x2F;no lying down rule.&lt;p&gt;Welcoming, inviting public spaces can do very well if people understand why they are desirable.</text></item><item><author>ketzo</author><text>It seems like the key insight is that &lt;i&gt;bookstores are no longer places to get books&lt;/i&gt;.&lt;p&gt;If I want a specific book, I already know where to go: the internet. No physical store is ever going to compete on inventory ever again. Amazon will eat you alive.&lt;p&gt;I go to bookstores to discover &lt;i&gt;new&lt;/i&gt; books, and to enjoy the feeling of being around books and the people who love them. The CEO realized this, and leaned in hard.&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#x27;s a really, really smart recognition of when passion for the product is actually a business advantage, and not just a warm fuzzy.&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#x27;s &lt;i&gt;very&lt;/i&gt; hard to do good recommendations -- even for Amazon&amp;#x2F;Goodreads! -- without people who care about what they&amp;#x27;re recommending. Those recommendations are now a bookstore&amp;#x27;s real product.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>jmacd</author><text>Libraries and librarians always seem to far ahead of things on a meta level. My town (Halifax, Nova Scotia) also built a beautiful library recently. Once of the criticisms levelled at it was that it didn&amp;#x27;t really have stacks all over the place.&lt;p&gt;It has become an incredibly valuable community hub. Books are a bit of an excuse to enjoy its architecture and function. I&amp;#x27;ve been there for countless hours with my children as they have grown up.&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;m also consistently impressed by the staff. In a time when every business is complaining about staffing and using it as an excuse for bad quality and bad service, it seems that most libraries are staffed with total professionals who do their job day in and day out and do it well.</text></comment>
<story><title>Barnes and Noble&apos;s surprising turnaround</title><url>https://tedgioia.substack.com/p/what-can-we-learn-from-barnes-and</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>hn_throwaway_99</author><text>A few years ago Austin opened up a new main public library. When it was being proposed I thought &amp;quot;why are we spending millions and millions on a library in the digital age?&amp;quot;.&lt;p&gt;Boy was I wrong, and I&amp;#x27;ll happily eat crow for how wrong I was. The new library building is beautiful, super inviting and some of my favorite architecture anywhere. I love going there to work or read. They also do a great job making the building welcoming and accessible to all, while at the same time preventing it from getting trashed by the homeless (looking at you SF public library) with a simple no sleeping&amp;#x2F;no lying down rule.&lt;p&gt;Welcoming, inviting public spaces can do very well if people understand why they are desirable.</text></item><item><author>ketzo</author><text>It seems like the key insight is that &lt;i&gt;bookstores are no longer places to get books&lt;/i&gt;.&lt;p&gt;If I want a specific book, I already know where to go: the internet. No physical store is ever going to compete on inventory ever again. Amazon will eat you alive.&lt;p&gt;I go to bookstores to discover &lt;i&gt;new&lt;/i&gt; books, and to enjoy the feeling of being around books and the people who love them. The CEO realized this, and leaned in hard.&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#x27;s a really, really smart recognition of when passion for the product is actually a business advantage, and not just a warm fuzzy.&lt;p&gt;It&amp;#x27;s &lt;i&gt;very&lt;/i&gt; hard to do good recommendations -- even for Amazon&amp;#x2F;Goodreads! -- without people who care about what they&amp;#x27;re recommending. Those recommendations are now a bookstore&amp;#x27;s real product.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>firecall</author><text>Many regional public libraries in Australia double as wonderful community hubs!&lt;p&gt;They have spaces for business meetings, rooms for night classes, groups to meet and so on!&lt;p&gt;They really are a wonderful mix of community services.&lt;p&gt;Plus libraries are still a great place to take young children. They often have seperate kids areas where you can spend an hour or two with toddlers.&lt;p&gt;Libraries arnt stuffy old quiet buildings anymore!</text></comment>