Better World Books

At first glance, Better World Books appears to be a used bookstore like any other, gathering and selling old books and barely staying afloat. However, closer examination reveals that there is much more to BWB than meets the eye. In conjunction with their mission to succeed as a business, BWB works to maintain the health of the environment and, most importantly, bridge the literacy gap. In this way, Better World Books serves as a place where people in any stage of the reading process can come and find books.

As is detailed on their website, Better World Books began as the brainchild of two college graduates from South Bend. As they realized the possibilities for success with their idea, they invited another friend, Jeff, to help them with the formulation of the business. Now, they are a thriving (and expanding) business that is still taking on new employees. BWB is structured around three main ideas which they call the “triple bottom-line”: social, environmental, and economic. The social aspect encompasses BWB’s emphasis on the support of literacy. In order to preserve the environment, they have developed reduced carbon emission plans, carbon balancing, low energy shipping, and recycling books. They have recycled over 135 million pounds of books, and reclaimed more than 900,000 pounds of metal shelving from libraries. In 2009 BWB won the WasteWise Gold Award for Paper Reduction, and in 2010 the WasteWise Gold Award for Climate Change. Finally, in the economic sector, they have a company resolution to participate in a new form of “true accounting”: being responsible to all key stakeholders while still recognizing the need for a profit.

BWB has an outlet store in Mishawaka, IN, a retail store in Goshen, IN, an extremely comprehensive online store, and numerous book drop-off locations. I visited the Goshen location in order to get a better feel for the business. The store is very organized and well-displayed, with orderly bookshelves and comfortable chairs for the reader’s convenience. They have every genre of book imaginable, with a combination of recent titles and old favorites in each section. Currently, the store is connected with a record shop next door which they share space with, but BWB is expanding and will soon be moving to a larger building on Main Street. The neighborhood is mostly full of small businesses, cafes, and markets.

My first visits to the store were on what would be considered a fairly typical business day. There was a fairly steady flow of customers, but nothing overly busy. The second visit was on April 5, which was the day of the First Fridays celebration in Goshen. BWB was much busier during the community celebration, packing in somewhere around 30 or 40 customers at one time. Brad Weirich, the retail manager of the store, laughingly informed me that the “average” customers of the store were generally 30-50 year old women. He did note, however, that they have worked hard to expand their customer range, especially through their children’s section. He noted that the customers also vary seasonally; there are often many more college students around the beginning of classes, and more teens and youth buying gifts around holidays.

Although the Goshen store is of moderate size, BWB as an organization serves a huge range of people and appears to still be growing. Their mission, according to the business’s website is “... [to be] a global bookstore that harnesses the power of capitalism to bring literacy and opportunity to people around the world.” The most recent published statistics on the site claim an impressive $13.8 million raised for literacy as well as over 8.1 million books donated.

One of the most impressive aspects of Better World Books’ structure is their commitment to improving the world around them. Many of the overarching achievements were noted earlier, but BWB also has relationships with specific nonprofit literacy programs. The global organizations are Books for Africa, The National Center for Family Literacy, Room to Read, and Worldfund. On a more local level, BWB also works with Open Books (Chicago), The Robinson Community Learning Center (South Bend), and The Prison Book Program (Boston). Through these outreach programs, BWB bridges the gaps between those who have books readily available to them and those who don’t. On a more local scale, BWB is also involved in the Goshen area with the local library, the Boys and Girls Club, and GoShakes. They also make various small donations to local businesses and programs (Weirich).

Works Cited:

Weirich, Brad. Personal interview. 5 Apr. 2013.

"Great Prices on New and Used Books." Better World Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2013.

For more information on Better World Books, visit:

• Website: www.betterworldbooks.com
• Or their blog: blog.betterworldbooks.com
• Or either of their two stores:
• 55740 Currant Rd

Mishawaka, IN 46545

(574) 968-9701

• 118 East Washington St

Goshen, IN 46528

(574) 534-198