Open a Book, Open the World
A Conversation with Harriett Logan of Loganberry Books

The name of the game at Loganberry Books is customer service. Real people providing real service to customers who walk in, call in, or log in through the web. Really! They’ve proven that it is possible to be nearly all things to nearly all people, presuming of course, that books are in the equation somewhere.

Harriett Logan has been in Cleveland almost long enough to qualify as a native. After all, she was only nine years old at the time, and had little to say about the move. Dad was from Massachusetts and Mom from South Carolina (and there’s still a trace of Southern Belle in her voice) so Harriett (who was born in Messina, NY) and her older brother sort of tagged along when the family moved. Even at the age of nine, it was the fourth place for her to live. Other than time away at college, she really put down roots. Right here in Cleveland.

She went back to Pennsylvania to undertake a double major in English and Theater at Lehigh University. Her emphasis was in directing, rather than acting. After that it was off to the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana for her Master’s in Theater. But a funny thing happened in the process. With her wonderful big smile, she says “I discovered that it was more fun hanging around in the library than writing endless papers,” and then adds, “I was never inclined to be a librarian.”

Larchmere Boulevard just to the north of Shaker Square was an appealing neighborhood, so she became a book-seller in 1994. Her first location (with the same name as the current one) was just down the street about four blocks from where Loganberry Books is now located. One great advantage to staying in the same general area is that when the store moved about four years ago, it was mostly done by foot-power, along with a raft of boxes and a few dollies. “We had 800 boxes, and some of them were refilled several times and then wheeled down here. But moving from a smaller space to a bigger one had definite advantages.”

The new space had been a car dealership, and it took a bit of ingenuity to turn it into the charming and inviting space it is now. One of the most interesting aspects is the huge skylight which makes the space seem even larger than it really is—if such a thing is possible! Really large, sturdy shelves were arranged so as to create alcoves throughout the main portion of the space.

The main space, up front just as you walk in from outdoors, is highlighted by a gorgeous wall arrangement that looks as though it came from a stately home somewhere. As a matter of fact, it did! The gilded, triple-arched shelving arrangement is an ‘architectural fragment’ from the Barber estate in Barberton, about an hour or so south of us.

Towards the back and slightly raised is the Sanctuary the room that ‘beeps’ at you as you go in or out. This is where the non-book type antiques and other collectibles are displayed; dolls, vintage costumes, lighters, toy soldiers and trains, among other delights.

There are two doorways to enter the Annex, a long space on the east side of the building. Here you’ll find the art gallery which features mostly local artists for a month at a time, and a logical addition to a bookstore – an in-house book binder and repair facility. This is the kingdom of Ellie Strong, and her Strong Bindery who moved here from Little Italy in January, 2004. The LitArts Room was the last to be opened, but then, in the meantime, it was also a workshop for the other rooms, plus a storage facility. Those 800 boxes had to go somewhere while waiting to be emptied!

This room is used for small acoustic concerts—generally folk music, depending on scheduling, “mostly traveling troubadours, passing through,” said with a grin. It’s all acoustic, however. Gene’s Jazz Hot ensemble is considered to be the ‘house band’ and will play again on the second Thursdays of December, January and February, from 6:30-9:00 pm. In addition to the occasional lectures or talks, (generally the 3rd Thursday of the month) it was also the site of the Local Author Fair of November, 2005, when close to 40 or so local authors gathered to sell their books to eager customers. In addition it is home to the Edible Books Festival. Ellie brought the idea back from a Bookworkers Guild conference in Minneapolis, and next April will be 5th annual fair. Photos of past delights may be seen at the store’s web-site.

Opening a bookstore in 1994 might have sunk a less-determined person. Harriett says “I’m just a bookseller.” But that’s a gross understatement. Fortunately, she was young enough to roll with all the changes in the book trade since computers became so ubiquitous. It’s hard to comprehend, but in 1994, Amazon wasn’t quite in existence as yet. Actually, the biggest on-line book-seller at that time—Books.com—was right here in Cleveland. Amazon did knock them out, along with any number of smaller independent bookstores. “The use of the internet is a double-edged sword for independent booksellers,” Harriett says, turning serious for a brief moment. “It did bring new venues for sales and marketing, and it’s much easier to find out-of-print books for customers. The other side of the sword is that some customers prefer to shop on-line for themselves, thereby forgetting their local bookstore.”

Harriett says she had no business background to speak of, but marketing seems to come naturally to her. “For instance, once a month. a lot of purple-wrapped gift packages go out in the mail.” (Purple = loganberries, get it?) “We started a book club about twelve years ago for a customer whose grandchildren were out of state. And it just grew. For whatever amount (choice is $10., $20., or $30.) that is decided by the customer—generally in the lower range, and they also choose the field of interest for the recipient (could be pop-up or board books for children or collectible gardening books for adults—or something else, whatever) Loganberry chooses the titles—which can be new or used books—to send to the current 35 or so recipients.”

She says that about 60% of recipients are kids, but there are some adults, too. Generally, memberships are in $10. increments, including postage and handling. It’s a very individualized service, for the somewhat anonymous clients who’ve discovered her through the web-site. Some of the folks who use this service are local, of course. And they help to spread the word, as well.

Loganberry does carry mostly used books, but some new, especially those of local authors. The stock is especially strong in children’s books and various illustrated texts, plus fine and performing arts. They have a huge range of books from cheap remainders to modern half-price editions to collectible fancy and leather bound books, including sets. There’s a goodly selection of used paperbacks and even a few CDs. Harriett says “we buy collections, go to estate sales and auctions, and sometimes even from pickers, who manage the smaller collections. But, we won’t just go clean out someone’s attic!” On occasion, for esoteric titles, they’ll even buy old magazines—providing they’re in good shape.

A goodly number of people will tell you that Loganberry has the best selection of greeting cards in the city. With a slightly startled look on her face, Harriett corroborates that statement. “I just counted and we have two dozen plus vendors of Christmas cards alone!” And of, course, the somewhat ubiquitous calendars that any self-respecting bookstore must have! In addition, Harriett has her own brand of cards, sold under the name of Salutations. “They’re made from remnants of things . . . sometimes things or objects found in books.” Her somewhat whimsical smile is accompanied by a shrug.

Tradition is very strong in this area. “Larchmere is one of the few historic business districts in the US. Our Stroll this year is the 34th annual event, which is always Thanksgiving weekend. It’s very nostalgic, with a horse and buggy gently moving patrons up and down the ten-block stretch of Larchmere,” says the current president of the Larchmere Merchants Association, none other than Ms. Logan. Her major addition to the weekend is a book signing on Saturday afternoon, November 24, from 1 to 3 pm, authors Teri Arthur and Rob Sirn will happily sign your copy of Mister Jingeling Keeper of the Keys, continuing the tradition of the well-loved Cleveland character.

All the Larchmere merchants participate in this jollity. Last summer, they had a huge flea market which encompassed the walkable district from E 121st to Kemper/North Morland Roads, and are planning to repeat it this year.

As for Loganberry, they’ll keep on keepin’ on. Open a book – open the world, indeed. The staff prides itself on being good at book searches, using a network of dealers from across the country. You won’t find text books, and not a lot of mass-market paperbacks either, but some. There’s a monthly e-newsletter, accessible through the web-site. The store is open later on Thursdays with a variety of special events: 1st Thursdays are new show openings in the Annex Gallery; 2nd are Gene’s Hot Jazz (not to be missed!); 3rd are NOBS forums, with lectures about the book world, printmaking, collecting, pop-up books (kids & adults) magazines, etc., and 4th are the book club. Currently, they’re into James Joyce. (The NOBS forums have a suggested donation of $3. for non-members, call for information.)

The web-site also has several unusual features: there are occasional contests such as: Write a review of your favorite book. If they use it (it gets printed and posted on a wall in the store) you’ll get a $10. gift certificate to be used in the store. They also have a ‘Stump the Bookseller” segment, along the lines of “years ago I read this book about (or this happened) and . . . what the heck is it?” Frequent contributors are likely to get a small ‘thank you’ present. And of course, there’s also an on-line thank-you gift registry form—perfect for the holidays!

And just to keep the need for books ever-present, they frequently have local authors in for a book-signing. These are usually on Saturday afternoons. You can easily keep up with all of this through the web-site: http://www.loganberrybooks.com Or call for more information—a real person will answer during normal business hours at 795-9800.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz artswriterATroadrunner.com
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