Barnes & Noble Sets Up Local Initiative

In an effort to connect with their local communities Barnes & Noble has launched a local bookseller blog program, going against the chain's corporate, national image with local news items.

At the "Blogging Booksellers" page, readers can visit stores around the country, getting personalised video recommendations from staff. Bookman Beattie says the site it is worth a look.

Publishers Weekly report on the initiative as follows:

B&N Gives Booksellers Blogs
By Lynn Andriani -- Publishers Weekly

BN.com has taken a step toward uniting its online store with its bricks and mortar stores.

It now features "Blogging Booksellers" on its site, where booksellers from various Barnes & Noble stores around the country create and upload their own video blogs about their latest recommended reads and local store events.

Blogging Booksellers currently features 11 bloggers in nine cities and more will be added. The bloggers are creating short videos, updated weekly, filmed with Flip cameras. Through the "Store Locator" button on BN.com, visitors can find stores that have Blogging Booksellers.

Blogging Booksellers is part of B&N Studio, which offers original multimedia content related to books for sale. B&N Studio was launched a year ago, and to commemorate the anniversary, B&N launched a new channel, "The Best of the Best: B&N Studio's One Year Anniversary Collection," a compilation of original shows, interviews and other content. Since its launch, B&N Studio has featured more than 2,000 video and audio offerings.

Footnote:

The Bookman says, well done Barnes & Noble, an excellent initiative which can only improve as more blogging reviewers join up. And the idea seems to be working for newspapers across the US.