By Andra Bryan Stefanoni
news@joplinglobe.com
Susie Davidson knows what will happen as soon as meteorologists announce an impending snowstorm: Customers will flock to the store she and her husband John own, Changing Hands Book Shoppe, 528 S. Virginia Ave, in Joplin.
Their standard line is, “Let’s see, gas in the car, groceries, books. ... They go home and read for however long they’re stuck,” said Susie, as several inches of snow fell across the Four States last week.
“They were here Saturday, Tuesday, Wednesday (the store is closed Sunday and Monday) just as soon as they announced we’d be getting a lot of snow,” she said.
Her theory is that if people expect power outages, they know they can still read a book by firelight or flashlight.
“You curl up in your easy chair with a book, have a cup of tea, and you’re set for a few hours,” she said.
The majority of their customers who come in before bad weather are seniors, and since the store has been in business more than 17 years, the Davidsons know what those customers want, what they’ve read, and when to expect them.
“You kind of hate to ask for bad weather, but like hardware stores and other places that stock storm-related items, when it does happen it does help bring in some cash to the cash register.”
Other area bookstores and libraries report similar increases in traffic.
Books-a-Million co-manager Zac Nixon said Friday that mid-week, when residents got word of the snowy forecast, his store was jumping more than usual.
“We usually get a little bit of a rush before a storm; people want to cozy up with a book while it’s snowing and blowing outside,” he said.
Borrowing books appears to increase before inclement weather, as well, according to Pat Clement, director of Pittsburg Public Library.
But unlike the bookstores, her parking lot continued to be full Friday even as snow continued to fall and accumulate, necessitating Clement and a few staff members take turns going out to shovel throughout the day.
“I haven’t looked at door counts yet, but I am definitely going to go check and see how many people have come in today,” she said. “They’re coming in to use the Internet, it’s cozy here, moms are dropping off high school aged-kids because school was canceled.”
But nothing compared to earlier in the week, she said, particularly on Wednesday when the adult services department saw a lot of traffic.
“We’re just like the grocery store. Everybody comes by to pick up books so they can just hunker down and stay inside. Food, toilet paper ... and books, and they’re happy,” said Clement.
