Josh Hauser is no stranger to the stresses that an increasingly digital world poses to her downtown Langley bookstore.
But instead of trying to wrap her arms around a threat that’s seemingly too big, Hauser chooses to focus on what she can control and often hugs a customer instead.
It’s all part of a personal touch that Hauser has provided for 43 years as owner of Moonraker Books, one of Langley’s oldest surviving businesses.
“We offer something that’s close to nonreplaceable,” Hauser said. “We really are interested in people and interested in books.”
Providing customized service, a healthy stock and variety of new books and building long relationships with a loyal customer base have allowed Hauser to weather the storm during a time when many small independent bookstores and even large retail chains have suffered or shut their doors.
“I HAVE women with children with them saying, ‘That’s where momma used to sit on the floor when she was a little girl,’ ” Hauser said.
Adjusting to the times, Hauser said a large part of her business is custom-ordering books for her customers.
It’s an approach she and other small bookstore owners are taking to compete in a world where large online booksellers such as Amazon offer the convenience and speed of ordering and delivery without a customer leaving home.
This method helps the local bookstore, which orders through its book supplier.
“I think Amazon is a knee-jerk reaction now,” said Karen Mueller, owner of the Wind & Tide Bookshop in Oak Harbor.
“Very much what we do is very personal,” Hauser said. “I don’t care if Amazon says, ‘Hi,’ and my name pops up. It’s not the same as walking into a real bookstore and touching real books.”
MUELLER SHARES Hauser’s passion for books and believes strongly in the benefits of reading to children.
Like Moonraker, Wind & Tide on Southeast Pioneer Way is a charming old building in an historic downtown.
A big difference, however, is Wind & Tide’s bottom line.
“We’re struggling,” Mueller said.
So much so that Mueller is grasping for answers and is questioning whether Oak Harbor wants the independent bookstore that has been around since 1967 in its community.
She said she realizes many other small businesses are struggling and that she’s not alone.
“I’d like to see it make it to 50 (years), I really would,” Mueller said of an anniversary that is two years away.
“I’ve tried everything I could think of out there.”
(Below: Neil Hudelson checks out a book at the Wind & Tide Bookshop in downtown Oak Harbor. The bookstore has been around since 1967 but is struggling to survive in today’s digital age, owner Karen Mueller said.)
MUELLER’S SHOP, which she’s owned since 2011, offers new and used books, stationary and other items and has a seating area to read or hold small meetings. She hosts events for Whidbey Island authors and arranges other events specifically geared toward children.
She understands the conveniences of technology and popularity of digital devices such as Kindle but believes when it comes to young children, nothing replaces a real book being read to them.
“Maybe I’m old-fashioned and I don’t want to realize it,” Mueller said, “but reading to children never changes. They need to be read to. It’s been proven that reading to a child helps their cognitive function throughout their whole lives.
“It’s critically important.”
MUELLER SAID she’s watched her bookstore’s sales trend downward year after year, “and I can’t trend anymore downward.”
She said her landlord’s reduced rent is the main factor keeping her business afloat.
“If I had to pay real rent, I’d be out of here in five minutes,” she said.
Mueller also started placing orders for customers through her book supplier with the promise of speedy delivery. She’s willing to try most anything to keep her bookstore afloat.
As a teenager growing up on Whidbey Island, she visited the Wind & Tide often and can still remember the smell of the store back then.
“I used to get in so much trouble reading every day,” she said. “I still read a book a day. I love being around books. It’d be disappointing if I didn’t own this store anymore. On the other hand, it gets to the point where it’s embarrassing. I don’t want to give up.”
HAUSER SAID the devotion of her customers both in the community and visitors from out of town have allowed her to stay in business.
She doesn’t offer a seating area, just a wide variety of books on display with about 10,000 in stock in the spacious, two-story building.
Her store also is open seven days a week and has three other employees.
“The bookstore industry is always a struggle, but I’m more than holding my own,” Hauser said. “There’s certainly room for improvement.
“I’m in a community where people are interested in books and in keeping a small-time bookstore alive, and that makes a big difference. These are people who truly want to support it.
“I really couldn’t do it without my loyal people.”
