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Article: KEPLER'S FILLS NICHE BY FOSTERING BOOK CLUBS ON THE PENINSULA Book club boom
- Article from:
- Oakland Tribune
- Article date:
- January 21, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2007 Oakland Tribune. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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IN OCTOBER 2005, Kepler's Bookstore in Menlo Park faced a
monumental challenge.
The independent bookstore, a Peninsula landmark for five decades,
shocked the community with its abrupt closure that year on Aug. 31,
after years of declining sales. Community groups rallied to re-open
Kepler's, and six weeks later it did so, with a determination by its
managers to remake the venerable institution into a cultural
destination.
Among its first initiatives? Starting a book club department,
complete with online registration, in-store clubs and shelves
devoted to club picks.
The results, says Clark Kepler, owner of the store, has been
nothing short of astonishing. Since the bookstore's re-opening, ...