Hello!

If you want to sell books during a pandemic, it turns out that one of the best places to do it is within easy reach of eggs, milk and diapers.

When the coronavirus forced the United States into lockdown this spring, stores like Walmart and Target, which were labeled essential, remained open. So when anxious consumers were stocking up on beans and pasta, they were also grabbing workbooks, paperbacks and novels — and the book sales at those stores shot up.

“They sell groceries, they sell toilet paper, they sell everything people need during this time, and they’re open,” said Suzanne Herz, the publisher of Vintage/Anchor. “If you’re in there and you’re doing your big shop and you walk down the aisle and go, ‘Oh, we’re bored, and we need a book or a puzzle,’ there it is.”

Big-box stores do not generally break out how much they sell of particular products, but people across the publishing industry say that sales increased at these stores significantly, with perhaps the greatest bump at Target. In some cases there, according to publishing executives, book sales tripled or quadrupled.

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Public library buildings are safe shelters and economic drivers that quietly operate within every community. They live in the bricks-and-mortar space as well as the virtual, assisting patrons with such life basics as finding employment, starting their own businesses and teaching their kids to read.

During the pandemic, libraries had to close their buildings to the general book-reading public, but facilities were used in different ways, for example, as food bank distribution centres and emergency computer labs for low-income groups. In recent weeks, they have slowly started to reopen, with a renewed understanding of the unique and essential role libraries play within the physical community.

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From personal to professional, COVID-19 has shaken up our worlds. No one has been left untouched, especially in the nonprofit sector. The challenges of the pandemic have been more pronounced for some non-profits than others, though. 

Why? 

Because so many nonprofits are still stuck in the 90s! It’s unfortunate, but it’s the reality many are facing. They’re still using paper and pen instead of technology. They’re still highly dependent on face-to-face fundraising, marketing, and branding. 

Now more than ever, a functional and good looking online presence is SO important. Now more than ever, using online services and technology is critical. Now more than ever, being quick to adapt is a vital skill.

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Texting programs aimed at parents of young children have proliferated over the last several years as smart phones have become ubiquitous and health and education groups look for new ways to get kids on track early.

They have names like Bright By Text, Vroom, Ready4K, Text4baby and Text2LiveHealthy. Some are open to all parents of young children, providing tips on activities that promote talking, reading, and learning. Others are more tightly focused, for instance targeting low-income parents whose children attend certain schools.

There’s evidence that such interventions can provide valuable nudges that help change behavior in parents and thus change the experiences their young children have. A 2014 study co-authored by the Stanford University researcher who later spun Ready4K into a commercial product, found that offering advice for parents via text on building early literacy skills increased the number of home literacy activities parents did with their children, upped parental involvement at school, and led to literacy gains among preschoolers.

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