Symposium Owners Think They Can Weather What Borders Couldn't

Scott and Ann Marie McCullough, owners of Symposium Books on Main Street, are happy to see winter coming to an end and plan to give it everything they’ve got to impress customers with .

As with many businesses, constantly changing technology and an uncertain economy have writers, publishers and bookstores owners wondering exactly what direction to jump next.

The Borders bookstores in Rhode Island have apparently escaped the axe, but the bookstore giant still reportedly wants to close up to a third of its locations. Readers also have easy electronic access to books through devices like the Nook, Kindle and i-Pad.

Scott says industry publications go back and forth on the future of the book business every day. He thinks Borders just made some mistakes in their business model and store design and some partnerships may have worked against them.  He says it’s too early to say what impact the proposed store closings might have.

Anne Marie thinks serious readers will stay with books.  She says some may choose an electronic book for convenience, but will still buy books.  She believes those readers enjoy browsing and holding a book in their hands.

Some books are not available in electronic format, so overall Scott believes the industry is ok for now.

Like all stores on East Greenwich’s Main Street, Symposium lost a lot of days to a tough winter.   Storms that came during the week cost them at least three days of business as residents hunkered down before the storm arrived, stayed inside the day it hit, and then spent at least one day, and sometimes more, shoveling. 

The McCulloughs' business venture into books began while they were living in New York, where both were involved in components of the book business.  They wanted to leave the city and after researching the East Coast, decided on Providence, which at that time was in the middle of a renaissance.

As they looked around for store locations, they liked East Greenwich because it seemed to be a well read community without a book store.

When Sam Crowe learned they would be hiring she applied, and the next day went to work as the manager.  A URI student, she lives just up the street from the store and walks to work every day.  An English major, she is working on her Bachelors, plans to go on to grad school for a PhD and wants to be an English Professor.

Crowe and the McCullough’s like their location and with the heavy snow now behind us, are happy to see people walking again.  They are looking forward to the Main Street Strolls.

The fact there is a Main Street played a big part in the McCullough’s choice of East Greenwich.  They also think the locals understand the importance of supporting a local business.

In addition to Symposium on Main Street, they have stores on Westminster and Thayer Streets in Providence.   The Westminster street store has been there for 7 years, but the Thayer Street store opened just last November after they closed a store in Boston. 

They also have a warehouse in Providence from which they wholesale books to other stores and fill internet orders worldwide.