Bookshop

In highlighting St. Matthew’s Bookshop we had a successful year continuing to provide a literary and gift venue for both parish members and guests. The bookshop sales held firm with slight increases over 2009 figures in both receipts and customers served. Bookshop receipts for 2010 were $1,585.07 and 110 customers were served. It was observed that non Sunday sales opportunities do exist with having good sales when we were open for group meetings taking place in the church. Selected “Sale Day Sundays” did appear to drive traffic and excitement into the shop and our best month for sales of the year was October.

The bookshop’s biggest dream for the coming year would be some interior change, if possible, as the flooring, walls and ceiling need freshening up. As they have served the shop well for many years they are appearing stained and worn looking. A small investment and careful choice of the mentioned materials could greatly enhance the appearance of the shop for many years to come. Enhancing the shop appearance could increase sales opportunities and also enhance the foyer area overall.

The largest obstacle the bookshop faces is that it is a very small operation, in a small space and with a small purchasing budget. It is challenging to carry certain product lines that require substantial ongoing on hand inventory investment. Every attempt is made to order specific titles and merchandise that the shop has received requests for. The bookshop ongoing does want to hear from parish members and guests as to what items they might like to find available among the selection offered. The bookshop enjoys placing orders for materials needed for church education classes and individuals alike.

Briefly overviewing the ministry of the bookshop, it has a goal to provide a source for insightful as well as thought provoking reading materials, thoughtful gift items and quiet reading space to review a book for those who worship within the Episcopal experience of St. Matthew’s.

As an overview of last year the bookshop made regular staff and customer request orders as well as made an attempt to order select gift products that not only sought to benefit parish members and guests but would further help those who produce the goods. SERRV and Pura Vida were two such vendors used to accomplish this goal. Both organizations help artisans and farmers in developing nations and the United States as alternative trade organizations. Both offer to these artisans and farmers prepayments to sustain their businesses, help to create new designs to build their markets, teach new skills so they can develop their craft and provide grants to expand their resources. These organizations help to support equal rights for women, guide sustainable development and pay a fair wage to those people living in developing countries. Point of purchase signage as well as product tags helped to inform of the products origins and who their purchase would benefit. Weekly operations were overseen by Paula Nightengale until early June when Michael Hunter volunteered his services for the remainder of the year. On June 18th and 19th a full bookshop inventory was performed to determine current inventory levels. The inventory was recorded and calculated to be $6,857.13 at marked retail price.

Members of St. Matthew’s involved in the bookshop ministry this year included Michael Hunter, Judi Mackey and Paula Nightengale. A special thanks to Margaret Hunter who assisted during the June day long inventory process.

For those interested in getting involved in the bookshop ministry volunteers of all ages are encouraged to assist in staffing the shop. Whether volunteering for a regular schedule on service days or on specific dates of your choice your time would be welcome always whatever you are able to give. Expected volunteer time would be 30 minutes prior to and 30 minutes after each Sunday service and outside group meeting opportunities as scheduled the church may experience in the coming year. Experience with handling cash is appreciated but not a requirement.

Respectfully submitted,
Michael Hunter
Bookshop Manager