Boxcar Books offers something new, different

Walking through the shopping districts of Bloomington, bookstores are easy to find. Specialty shops, large chains and smaller local businesses all are purveyors of books. Bloomington's newest addition to the bookstore market looks to fill a very specific niche.\nBoxcar Books, 310A S. Washington St., seeks to fill a specialized role in Bloomington. When opened, it will be a nonprofit bookstore selling new and used books covering many topics, but focusing on social and welfare issues. Boxcar Books will also be participating in the Pages for Prisoners Project, a service program that sends books to prisoners free of charge.\nAli Haimson, general coordinator, said the program receives about 100 requests a week from prisoners for books on a wide variety of topics.\n"Mostly prisoners are requesting educational materials," Haimson said. "They are just trying to get themselves an education for when they are released."\nOther popular materials include fiction, how-to books and literature.\nBoxcar Books also provides a large variety of magazines, comics, graphic novels and newspapers. The store offers a meeting area for its clientele, with meeting times for Pages for Prisoners, graphic novel discussion groups and other literary groups. Other student or local organizations are welcome to use the area.\nBoxcar Books will be set up differently than other bookstores because of its nonprofit status. Matt Trisini, also a general coordinator, outlined those details.\n"Nobody is being paid to work here," he said. "We run on volunteer work and may only begin to pay people to work after we have been open a few years. We also don't have an owner, but rather a board of directors."\nHaimson also said Boxcar will be able to apply for grants to help support the enterprise.\nBoxcar Books is preparing for the grand opening 6-10 p.m. Feb. 1. Refreshments will be offered and discussions held, with all welcome. Haimson expects a large turnout.\nFreshman Julia Blanford said she thinks the bookstore is a good idea but is not sure if she will frequent the store or not.\n"I just wonder if they're going to have a good selection or not," she said. "I wouldn't mind going if I can find what I am looking for. It's always great to help out a good cause."\nBruce Jaffee, associate dean for academics of the Kelley School of Business, said Boxcar will need to find its niche in order to survive.\n"Bloomington has a very large market for books, but a very competitive one," he said. "The University and general education level of Bloomington mean that many are looking for books, but in recent years it has been marked by more failures than entrants."\nHe also added that the store's nonprofit status will not make staying open any easier.\n"The small local stores need to find a niche in order to survive," Jaffee said. "Stores can focus on product, service, location or specialty materials."\nDespite the daunting task ahead of them, Trisini and Haimson said they have high hopes for Boxcar Books.