If you're one of the many students who has bought course books at Talking Leaves on Main Street, you've probably taken a crowded shuttle to South Campus, walked a few blocks in the snow, and navigated your way through overflowing piles of books to get to the back of the store, where, (finally) you found your book.
Since 1975, many UB professors have ordered their textbooks through Talking Leaves Books, Buffalo's oldest independent bookstore.
Professors who recognize the bookstore's unique position in the community and encourage students to shop there do more than provide an alternative to the long lines at the University bookstore – they help students get off campus, explore the city, and experience firsthand the benefits of shopping locally.
"Professors have said to me that they want students to see what is called, for better or worse, a ‘real bookstore,'" said Jonathon Welch, owner and co-founder of Talking Leaves. "The focus of many university bookstores is selling school supplies and school paraphernalia. Their idea was that a bookstore should be a bookstore."
Online giants like Amazon and Chegg are creating a new set of problems for local shops: students looking to purchase inexpensive textbooks often favor the hefty discounts online. For the last 40 years, Talking Leaves has made it their mission to support local businesses and citizens.
Now, in record numbers, the same community is turning to cheaper, faster, and more disconnected ways of getting their books.
"More recently, with the increasing development of online books, it has been harder and harder to get students to be willing to buy books, and potentially pay a little more to an independent bookseller rather than get them in the cheapest means possible," said Barbara Bono, a professor in the English department.
The management estimates that when Talking Leaves first began offering textbooks selected by professors, approximately 80 percent of students from a given class would purchase the book at their store. Within the last five years, that number has dropped to 30 percent.
"John [Welch] has simply said to me that even though I'm ordering really standard literary texts, students either won't buy the book, or they'll go seek it elsewhere," Bono said. "So I can place my order with him, but only a fraction of my students actually go to Talking Leaves to buy the texts."
Although Welch is disappointed to see fewer students shopping in the community, he understands that the expense students face when buying textbooks is an enormous motivating force.
"If we're selling a book for 80 dollars and Amazon is selling it for 62, I can't really blame students for buying online," said Welch.
Textbooks comprise approximately one quarter of Welch's Main Street store. However, the business he gets – or fails to get – from textbook sales will not determine the fate of his business. For the last few years, he has been rethinking the store's position as a supplier of course books.
The partnership between UB professors and Talking Leaves was driven by the mutual desire to help students become more involved in businesses surrounding campus. Online shopping often ruins the sense of community that local purchases promote, according to Welch.
"When you shop locally, when you shop in this community, the money you spend stays in this community. It employs people in this community and it doesn't leave here. When you shop with Amazon, everything leaves here and nothing comes back," Welch said.
When professors send their students to Talking Leaves, the hope is that they will stop and look around at books outside of their required reading. The goal is to get students to own books, keep books and read books, according to Bono. The management believes that, as one of the only true bookstores left in Buffalo, Talking Leaves is a great place to start.
"I live locally, and I've used Talking Leaves since high school," said John D., a senior English major. "It's a great bookstore; the atmosphere is really nice. I don't have a problem getting myself there, it's always fun just to take a walk down."
Students like John who do get out and explore the city around South Campus know that unique and interesting shops like Talking Leaves are scattered all over the city, from Main Street to Elmwood and everywhere in between.
"The biggest issue for us is that student's don't feel comfortable leaving campus, or don't want to leave campus," Welch said. "They're not exploring very much. To me, college is the best time in your life to be seeing what else is out there."
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