Does Size Really Matter?

When low-cut jeans showcase plumber cracks at every corner and Starbucks and Wal-Mart have grabbed just about every piece of available real estate, the important question still reigns supreme.

Does size really matter?

To answer this sometimes-startling question, many would definitively say "yes." On the other hand, some brave souls who feel compelled to root for the under dog would dare to say empathetically, "No it does not."

In choosing the proper bookstore, the question remains the same: Whether to go to a massive corporate conglomerate like Borders or Barnes and Noble, or a smaller locally-owned, independent store such as Talking Leaves or Queen City Bookstore.

"We were founded as an alternative to the then-corporate chain stores," said Jon Welch, owner of Talking Leaves. "Our goal was to represent the many voices being published but rarely available in the majority of then-existing stores."

"What we offer is independence, knowledge, vision and community," he said.

Specializing in areas such as serious literary fiction, poetry, queer cultures and books critical of mainstream cultural and political thinking, they have been able to stay afloat in an often-difficult arena.

"We decide what books we stock, not a few anonymous buyers in a distant corporate headquarters," said Welch. "We decide which books to feature, not the advertising manager of a large publishing house or corporate retailer. We come from this community, we stay here, and we give back to it every day."

"Corporate chain stores are one form of competition we face and feel. Until about 15 years ago, there were no corporate superstores in the retail landscape," he said. "Internet retail is just barely 10 years old-we don't let the competition define who we are or should be."

The people of Buffalo, with its small town, community-minded feel and continual support for many local businesses, have been a key component in the success of Talking Leaves. While this may be the case for Talking Leaves, there have also been many local businesses that have tried and failed in the area.

In areas such as Amherst, a major corporate chain lines every street corner and all spots in-between on the Boulevard and Sheridan Dr., stocked with just about every consumer good available.

"I would choose a locally-owned store over a corporation for most things," said Brooke Stady, a 23 year-old waitress from Buffalo. "Supporting local businesses and the community just feels more rewarding. They (corporate business) will get their money one way or another, just not through me."

On the other side of the coin is a Fortune 500 corporation like the Borders Group. Borders is a worldwide conglomerate of over 1,200 Waldenbooks and Borders stores-some as far-reaching as Singapore, with annual sales upwards of $3.4 billion. That is most definitely more money than the entire city of Buffalo possesses itself. It additionally has 32,000 employees worldwide, compared to that of merely a dozen at Talking Leaves.

Maintaining this abundance of stores and possessing that kind of money does bring its advantages. What this kind of size guarantees to the consumer is a colossal inventory of books, CD's, DVD's and the like, a feat not capable at a Talking Leaves or Queen City. There are also specialty coffees, buffalo chicken wraps and reading tables where one can enjoy a sandwich and sample this month's Sports Illustrated.

"I think that there is a real advantage to shopping at big, corporate stores," said Stephanie Jovic, a 21 year-old E.C.C. student from Hamburg.

"I go to Borders whenever I'm looking for a new CD or a good book," she said. "Where else can you find all this stuff in one store?"

When asked for comment, the folks at Borders kindly declined.

Emil Novak, the CEO of Queen City Bookstores, whose father opened the business in 1969, shares much of the same thoughts as fellow business owner John Welch on the size question.

"Our customers are very special, where Borders and Barnes and Noble deal more with commercial product for the masses," said Novak. "So, they help us indirectly by being commercial."