Barnes and Noble Stays in the Rare Books Business
Posted on July 19, 2008
Most people don't know that Barnes & Noble sells rare books. And when its Chelsea store closed, many assumed the rare and out of print book section would close as well. But it's not. It's just moving its rare books division to the store on Broadway and 66th Street. The division will be located on the second floor of the store.
The books include fiction first editions as well as arts and design books; prices range from $45 to several hundred dollars. Although Barnes & Noble says it does not plan to replicate the effort in other stores, it is also not taking its commitment lightly: it is spending a significant sum on the department, installing custom display cases with locked glass doors.It's a pleasant surprise that Barnes and Noble allowed Ms. Catalanotti to keep her department. It's not something one thinks of a large chain doing.The department is the pet project of Karen Catalanotti, a Barnes & Noble manager who set it up in Chelsea and has moved with it, now running the Upper West Side store. She says she culls her selections from the chain's warehouse for buyback books at Fifth Avenue and 18th Street, the chain's original location. Those titles are subsequently researched, priced and cataloged, and also listed for sale online.
In the brick-and-mortar store, "We only sell 300 to 400 of these books a year," Ms. Catalanotti said, "and I only replace as many as we sell every other week. It's a novelty that suits this neighborhood."