Attempts to build community: how independent bookstores contribute to culture
Author
Faculty Advisor
Date
2025
Keywords
book culture, qualitative data analysis, independent bookstore study, community gathering space
Abstract (summary)
This study focuses on comparing the book culture of Glass Bookshop in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, with Lighthouse Bookshop in Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom. Each independent bookstore has a social narrative, portrayed as a space where communities gather and is important to the local community fabric. Glass Bookshop and Lighthouse Bookshop have left-leaning, socio-political social narratives. Different aspects of each bookstore’s websites, store events, and customer habits were compared and contrasted using qualitative data analysis. It was found that Lighthouse Bookshop appears more established in its book culture and community interactions than Glass Bookshop, which appeared to be more disconnected in its portrayal and interactions. Glass Bookshop closed in February 2024, so the study cannot be replicated.
Publication Information
Platz, A. (2025). Attempts to build community: How independent bookstores contribute to culture. MacEwan University Student EJournal, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.31542/ngc80c28
Notes
Item Type
Student Article
Language
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC)
