Evans and Madan recently bought Booksmith and plan to use the community and resource center as a foundation for the multimedia bookstore. They want to add kiosks and create a dedicated events space with multimedia capability in the 3,300-sq.-ft. store. The Booksmith recently started video-recording events and is doing podcasts, and technology is key to the bookstore future. "They are highly skilled in technology," Frank said. "Their energy is amazing, and they really want to take Booksmith to the next level."

In February, Evans and Madan launched www.litminds.org, an interactive Web community where readers, authors and booksellers gather to talk about their reading lives. Evans said the site gets 800-1,000 visitors a day and has grown 50% every month since the launch. "We've had over 25,000 unique visitors to date," she said.

Evans called www.litminds.org a sister company to the Booksmith and explained that it offers a global social reading-related experience while the bookstore continues to focus on "being a really great neighborhood bookstore."

Via: http://www.publishersweekly.com