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Printed Page Bookshop

Named one of the top three best bookstores in Denver

Shelf sufficiency

April 26, 2020 By Dan Danbom

If a prestigious marketing program at a university ever invites me to lecture and a student asks, “Sir? What do you do in your book store to get customers to come in?” I would answer, “I start eating lunch or urgently need to go to the bathroom.” These options have shown over the course of many years to make that front door open with customers who have lots of questions demanding your uninterrupted attention.
But what do you do when you can’t have your door open because of a stay-at-home order? At Printed Page, we’ve embarked on a special effort to make sure that when we are finally able to open the door, awe-struck customers will exclaim, “I’ve never seen such neat shelving!”
Crowd-pleasing shelving starts with a visual inspection from a trained looker. Shelves with books that aren’t uniformly straight are flagged for further action. Using a manual level, the shelving technician makes an initial assessment of both vertical and horizontal uniformity to determine what is known in the trade as perpendicularity. After lunch, another technician uses laser technology to assess and determine a straight line on which the volumes will stand. The laser level guides the technician to either move a volume forward or backward. Sometimes, book ends are deployed. Quality control inspectors then check the work for, well, quality control. At that point the shelf is certified as meeting the requirements of the International Protocols on Shelving Books and is ready for public viewing.
Now here’s where marketing savvy comes in. We intend to let all the Neat Shelving clubs around the country know of our achievement in the hope that we’ll be a stop on one of their national bus tours. These clubs have names like “Shelfless Vagabonds,” “Top Shelf Lickers” and “Board Housewives.” Many are shelving re-creators who show off their skills in national shelving competitions. Those who participate in the book divisions strive to be able to remove a book from a shelf in such a way as to not leave an unsightly gap. Here’s where years of practice really pay off.
This is something you’re going to want to bring the kids to see, folks, and we hope that day comes soon

Filed Under: Book knowledge

Location & Hours

1416 S Broadway
Denver, Colorado 80210

As of May 1, 2021, our hours are:
Monday-Saturday 10:30 am - 5:30 pm
Sunday Noon- 5:00 pm

Custom Directions

Contact

303-777-7653
theshop@printedpagebookshop.com

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Printed Page Bookshop
Reviewed from Google

4.9 out of 5 stars

Lily Chang
Lily Chang

5 out of 5 stars

posted 1 year ago

Printed Page Bookshop is a local, co-op store co-owned by John and Dan. This Denver, South Broadway bookstore has some ten dealers and a variety of used books, including some signed first editions. I’ve met John and some other vendors. These people love books ans love what they do. It’s a great place to go, browse, and shop.

Peyton Deal
Peyton Deal

5 out of 5 stars

posted 3 months ago

Stumbled upon this shop walking down Broadway. Dan is wonderful, kind, and helpful. So many great books to browse through with the company of the shop dog, Izzy. Left with a friend children's book for my friend's son. Such a great experience spending time in here!

Linda Hylle
Linda Hylle

5 out of 5 stars

posted 6 months ago

Printed Page is a well curated and beautifully maintained “pre-owned” book shop. Sections are clearly labeled and if you have questions the owners are happy to answer any questions. The day I stopped in one of the owners, Dan, happily chatted with me and helped me choose a book as a gift for my son from a specific genre. It is obvious these owners are passionate about books and and sharing their inventory with the public.

Read All 205 Reviews
Printed Page Bookshop 5.0 star rating 45 reviews Yelp logo

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