In the current economy and Age of Amazon, someone would have to be certifiably insane to open a bookstore, but maybe it just requires bravery. Janet Geddis will open Avid Bookshop in downtown Athens in summer, 2010, after it has been in the works for several years. Her plans include creating a place where kids, parents, professors, students and townies can all find activities and books that meet their needs.

In a town known for restaurants, bars and a big music scene, it’s interesting to see someone so dedicated to reading. “There’s a general creativity in Athens,” Geddis says, “but it lacks in services for those into literature.” Geddis plans to remedy that lack by offering “multiple events per week” and coordinating with other local organizations and stores, such as the Classic Center, that could help bring in a wider audience.

“We want to find dialogues about books already out there and create new dialogues of our own,” she says, as she describes her overall plan.

Over the past few decades, local bookstores have generally closed, rather than opening. Tony Arnold has owned the downtown used-book store Jackson Street Books for the past 10 years. He notes the different face of Athens’ downtown from when he first came to work at the store in 1991.

“Athens attracted people for the day to shop at the bookstores,” he says, noting that there were five or six bookstores downtown at that time. “It isn’t that independent bookstores are competing with chain stores; we’re both competing with Amazon,” he says.

Jackson Street Books has changed its methods over the years to compete with online sales, and new bookstores need creative ways to ensure they won’t be beaten out by the low prices online sellers can offer. When someone sells a book online, they don’t have to pay for overhead, employees or any other of the many expenses incurred by bookstore owners.

For Jackson Street Books, that means continuing to offer comparatively low prices, being selective about which used books to accept and offering online sales of their own. However, they only put the rarest and most valuable books online.

“We can’t compete with people who sell books online for a dollar or fifty cents, so we don’t. Instead, we put hard-to-find books online for those willing to pay for them,” Arnold says. He also notes that the key to remaining a successful bookstore is to “focus on a niche.”

Janet Geddis seems to have that idea in mind. She’s sure that she won’t compete with Jackson Street Books, because the stores don’t have exactly the same market. Avid Bookshop will sell small publishers’ books, and used books will only be a portion of what she offers. Her store sounds like something out of You’ve Got Mail, where Meg Ryan reads to children in the background. (Geddis would probably object to this comparison; she emphasizes her dedication to clean, uncluttered shelves and plenty of open space, where customers can sit down and flip through books.) This is a different role than Jackson Street Books plays; there, tall shelves are stacked with so many books of a wide variety that even Tony Arnold admits he doesn’t always know what's on his shelves. Arnold doesn’t seem to have many worries about having a competitor just a few blocks away. Instead, he says with a genuine smile, “We always like to see the community support bookstores.” Jackson Street Books celebrates its 25th year this October, and, according to the owner, “business is good.”

Geddis also has other methods for competing with online sales: Sony announced last week it will sell ebooks and ebook readers through ABA independent bookstores, including Avid. “If you’re going to exist in the book world,” she says, “you have to be ready to adapt to changes.”

For more information about Avid Bookshop, visit the store's blog. You can email Janet Geddis of Avid Bookshop at avid.athens@gmail.com. You can also investigate Jackson Street Books online here or in person at 260 N. Jackson St., Athens, GA.

Katherine Shell