Bookstore partners with middle school for book fair

BOERNE — It is an unlikely pairing these days, that of a local independent bookstore with middle school students. But it’s just the type of novel business partnership that finds success in a community such as Boerne.

Last week, Boerne Middle School North held its annual book fair in the school library. But this year the fair embraced local, forgoing the traditional big box retailer for the chance to work with a bookstore within walking distance.

The middle school partnered with The Boerne Bookshop, a local independent bookstore located just off Main Street. Owner Dale Adams, who opened the shop in 2019, eagerly accepted this first-ever venture with the school.

“The kids seem very enthusiastic about this, and it’s neat listening to them talk about the books and get excited about what they see,” Adams said.

For him, the book fair wasn’t simply about supplying the books to the school, it was also an opportunity for involvement.

“We have a turn-key solution so (school) libraries don’t have to do everything,” he said. The bookstore provided the sales register for checkout, helped with set-up and provided employees to staff the fair and assist students while they shopped.

If a particular book sold out, it was simply a run down to the shop on Main Street to grab more inventory.

Boerne Middle School North librarian Erin Griffin said working with a local business was the perfect community partnership.

“I handpicked titles that were good for our students,” Griffin said of the book selection. Having Adams and his staff manage the book fair allowed her to keep regular school library hours so that she could assist students during the day. Often, during a school book fair, the librarian is running the entire event, from managing money to coordinating volunteers throughout the week.

“I’m able to keep the library open for students who want to get books,” said Griffin. “I’ve always tried to keep the library open but it’s really hard to do both. This has really given me the freedom to still work with kids, (and) help them find justright books for them.”

With Griffin able to assist her students throughout the day, she knows that even her students who don’t have the means to purchase a book from the book fair won’t leave empty handed.

“Either way, when kids come in they still get to leave with a book, whether it’s from the book fair or the library,” she said.

The sales from the book fair also point to the success of the partnership, up from last year according to Griffin.

The Boerne Bookshop gave 10% of the proceeds back to the library, and held a special family day on Oct. 25 at the bookstore with a percentage of those sales also going back to the library. “A lot of people I’ve spoken to are going to make a day out of it, go grab breakfast or brunch, and then go by the store,” she said.

There’s no doubt that Griffin wants to partner with the bookstore for next year’s fair. It’s an idea that sparked from her childhood days attending school in Boerne.

“When I was growing up in school here, we were required to buy our novels for our English classes and we always bought them from a bookstore that was in town. I remember walking after school to go. Everybody went,” she said.

Fast forward to spring 2024, when Griffin was looking for a company to work with for the book fair. She remembered her days as a young girl walking up Main Street to buy school books, and that’s when inspiration flew off the page.

“I thought of The Boerne Bookshop, that’s where we do all of our Christmas shopping,” she said. “It’s like a tradition,” she said. And for the students at Boerne Middle School North and The Boerne Bookshop, the proud tradition of “local” continues for another generation.