By: Faith Perrone, Reporter
OMAHA, Neb. – The Bookworm, owned locally by Phillip and Beth Black, has several different aspects that make the store special.
This includes book signings and readings by local authors, a shelf dedicated to local authors, a ‘banned’ book section, and complimentary gift wrap for every book purchased in the store.
21-year-old Connor Myers has been an employee at The Bookworm for four years. Myers said, “I think there is a lot of stuff that sets us apart. We really just try to make sure everyone has the best shopping experience. We offer a lot of extra services.”
Spending your dollar at a corporation compared to a local business is very different. An article titled “The Economic Benefits of Independent Bookstores” written by Paul Combs in 2021 stated that, “national chains take far more out of a community economically than they ever put back in.”
Therefore, shopping within the local community instead of corporate businesses can benefit your own community as well as yourself. The study within the article, “The Economic Benefits of Independent Bookstores,” studied the financial differences between local and corporate bookstores.
The article said, “the locally owned business spent a larger share of their revenue (29% vs. 23%), because they carried out all management functions on-site, rather than at a corporate headquarters,” and “because their owners live in the area, a larger portion of the local retailers’ profits stayed within the local economy.”
The Bookworm presents a creative way both employees and customers can share their favorite genres with each other despite the world becoming more and more reliant on technology each day. The store’s employee shelf of hand-picked favorites is a part of what makes it stand out from the rest; it curates its own inventory to satisfy the needs and interests of the local community.
21-year-old Ebani Filbert has been a customer at The Bookworm since 2019. “I love the staff choices shelf,” Filbert said. “Sometimes I feel like some of those cluttered bookstores make me feel anxious, and The Bookworm doesn’t make me feel like that.”
Filbert said that The Bookworm has become the best place to be whenever she wants to go book shopping. Out of the 400 books she owns, more than a quarter of them are from The Bookworm.
Filbert said, “It’s always fun to just wander around and see what catches your eye.”
The Bookworm is a family owned, local bookstore located in the heart of Omaha on 90th and Center. The Bookworm hosts a Storytime event every week on Thursdays at 10 a.m., and has several in-house author signings coming up this September. For more information, please visit www.thebookwormomaha.com.
