New Dominion Bookshop recently released a statement in response to the global COVID-19 outbreak announcing event postponements for the month of March and reduced shop hours, as well as suggestions for how to shop local and support the bookshop in these unfamiliar times.
The Virginia Festival of the Book, which usually hosts at least a dozen events at New Dominion Bookshop each March, also canceled its events scheduled for next week.
“Local businesses like ours will need your support in the coming weeks in order to keep our vibrant community thriving,” said marketing and communications director Sarah Crossland through New Dominion’s Facebook page. “This is a lot for a small business, and we need your support now more than ever…We hope that you will consider supporting the shop by buying books in the coming weeks.”
The full statement is reproduced below:
As most of you know, the Virginia Festival of the Book, originally scheduled for next week, has been canceled as a result of the COVID-19 global outbreak. We stand in solidarity with our friends at the Festival and fully support their decision. The Festival of the Book has always been one of the most important community events on our calendar, and aside from Christmas, it is also one of the most important times of the year for us in terms of book sales. Local businesses like ours will need your support in the coming weeks in order to keep our vibrant community thriving.
In terms of our own events, we have decided to postpone all events, except book clubs, through the end of March. We feel it is our responsibility to the community to help flatten the epidemic curve and to do our part to help keep our patrons, staff, and authors healthy. Please keep an eye on our website for the rescheduled event dates. The MFA Reading Series will be on pause through April 5, at which time UVA will reassess its own schedule. Our Saturday Storytime will also be on pause through April 5. Over the next couple of weeks, we will be closely monitoring the situation to determine if additional postponements are necessary.
We will be reducing shop hours effective today. Monday through Saturday, we will be closing at 6:00 PM. Our Sunday hours will remain the same. We are taking extra precautions to disinfect the shop and have encouraged staff to stay home if they are sick. If you are sick or have recently been in contact with someone who is sick, we encourage you to stay home as well.
This is a lot for a small business, and we need your support now more than ever. If you were planning to attend the Festival, we hope that you will consider supporting the shop by buying books in the coming weeks. If you don’t want to venture out, we take orders over the phone at 434-295-2552 or over email at [email protected] and can deliver books in town. We are also taking pre-orders for signed and inscribed copies of John Grisham’s new thriller, Camino Winds, out April 28. If you want to support the shop but can’t even think about books right now, we are able to sell shop gift cards over the phone and can mail them directly to you. We are all in this together, and we are glad to be heading into this uncharted territory with book lovers like you. Please share this message with other book lovers in the Charlottesville community.
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