With most of the cultural institutions around the city either closing voluntarily or by state decree as part of the effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, independent bookstores have started to feel the economic crunch. Several bookstores including The Strand have closed their physical stores down temporarily (The Strand noted that they have not laid anyone off yet). As Vulture reported, some are looking for creative solutions to stay alive, like Books Are Magic and Greenlight Bookstore, which are taking orders you can then pick up in person. But more difficult measures have been taken by others, including McNally Jackson, which laid off almost 80 employees this week.
On Monday evening, McNally Jackson said in a statement that they've shut their stores to the public, and they've "temporarily laid off employees" until they're able to reopen. These employees will be paid through the end of this week and keep their insurance benefits through the end of the month. You can see the full statement below, plus a few tweets from employees.
In a Medium post, Cristin Stickles writes that employees have organized to help one another: "For nearly all of them the loss of income and health benefits is going to be catastrophic, and there is an immediate and urgent need to get their living costs covered." They are asking people to donate to a shared Venmo account to "cover their living costs as a part of your efforts to support indie bookstores." All donations will be divided among the unemployed workers. You can find that information here.
They add that people should continue to support McNally: "Please also continue to support McNally Jackson (and all indie stores) through this shutdown and beyond with your online purchases (you can buy a McJ gift card for future use here). In order to get their jobs back as planned they need to have jobs to come back to." We've reached out to both McNally and the employees for further comment.
The original bookstore at 52 Prince Street was opened in 2004 by Sarah McNally, as part of her family’s McNally Robinson chain, then went independent four years later. Over the years, it has added a cafe and in-house printing press, becoming a destination for thumbing through rarefied art magazines or attending a reading while sipping a latte. In recent years, they also opened up new locations in Williamsburg, at City Point in Downtown Brooklyn and at the South Street Seaport.
In 2018, while contemplating the possibility of having to leave the original space on Prince Street, McNally reflected on the importance of having independent bookstores to Gothamist:
This whole process has made me think about the soul of McNally Jackson. Something is always lost in translation, but the translator chooses what remains. What about McNally Jackson is irreducible? It’s certainly not the current space, which is in a shoddy building that was thrown up over a former chicken abattoir. The soul of McNally Jackson is the books and the booksellers.
McNally's isn't the only bookstore forced to go this route: Book Culture has laid off 25 people, or almost 2/3 of their employees, this week. "We have closed all three of our stores," said owner Chris Doeblin. "We have a team of five who are doing our mail and phone orders for pick up at our 112th Street location. No in store browsing is allowed, just pick up."
Powell’s Books, a Portland-based independent bookstore with five stores, has laid off about 85% of its 400 union members in temporary layoffs. “Powell’s needs to take to immediate steps to scale back the company," the chain wrote to employees. And there are indications that other bookstores around the country may be facing similar painful decisions in the coming weeks.
