A Love Letter and Note of Encouragement

Stacey Kohut wrote an amazing love letter to the Booksmith in San Francisco. In it she describes some of the wonderful people who make the Booksmith the place that it is. She also mentions a fondness for Kepler's and her excitement about the Kepler's 2020 project. We'll quote that bit below, but you should really head over to the Booksmith blog and read the entire thing. It might make you want to write your own love letter...

"When Praveen Madan, who co-owns The Booksmith with his wife, Christin Evans, told me a few months ago that he and Christin would be joining forces with other business and community leaders to reinvent and revitalize Kepler’s in Menlo Park, I did a little dance of joy in the middle of the store.  Kepler’s was my first independent California bookstore, one of the few treats I permitted myself when I moved to the Bay Area fourteen years ago and was living on AmeriCorps wages in nearby Redwood City.  It is one of my sacred places, and in recent years it has pained me to see such a vibrant and important cultural icon struggle to stay afloat.  Now, bolstered by local support and Praveen and Christin’s talents, I have utter confidence that Kepler’s is going to thrive, joining The Booksmith in maintaining a space where readers and writers can reach across an expanse of infinite pages to create real connections, literary, cultural, and personal."

Thanks, Stacey!

New Video! Kepler's 2020: The Next-Generation Independent Bookstore

Catch a glimpse of some of the people who are part of the Kepler's transformation... Staff members, community leaders, writers, and bookstore lovers of all stripes.

Announcing Kepler's 2020!

First of all, if you haven't checked out the brand, spanking new website for our transition (called, snazzily, Kepler's 2020), WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

Some news about what's next for Kepler's just went out this morning. You can read the full press release here, but it begins with this:

Menlo Park, CA, January 31, 2012 – The Kepler’s Transition Team, a group of local business and community leaders, today announced the launch of “Kepler’s 2020,” an initiative that will transform Menlo Park’s historic independent bookstore into a next-generation community literary and cultural center. The project aims to create an innovative hybrid business model that includes a for-profit, community-owned-and-operated bookstore, and a nonprofit organization that will feature on-stage author interviews, lectures by leading intellectuals, educational workshops and other literary and cultural events.  

By separating the for-profit bookstore from the nonprofit organization, Kepler’s 2020 will allow the bookstore to maximize its profitability while enabling the community to support rich educational and cultural programming through tax-deductible donations and corporate sponsorships. The two organizations, although separate legal entities, will collaborate closely to bring people together around ideas and books to foster intellectual discourse and civic engagement in the community.

The news is already trickling around the web, with stories in Publisher's Weekly, San Jose Business Journal, Publishers Lunch, and MarketWatch (and that's just since 8 AM EST this morning!). But, if you want to get on the ride yourself, make sure to follow the Kepler's 2020 Facebook page and Twitter feed. More exciting news to follow!