Ventures' book department manager reveals a few tricks of the trade
Maria Canton
Northern News Services
Iqaluit (Oct 23/00) - It's mid-afternoon on a Monday and Travis Cooper is taking inventory of all of the stock in the Arctic Ventures book department.
As the manager of the second-floor bookshop that specializes in Northern books, Cooper is responsible for many things, one of which is keeping track of how many books are sold in a one-week period.
Amid calls from publishing houses and the occasional booming voice calling his name over the in-store intercom, Cooper takes no time in naming the biggest seller in the department.
"I'd say it's definitely the second edition of "Iqaluit".
"The coffee table books are the most popular. A lot of them are also signed by the author."
Among the store's other best sellers are the shelf of Disney works that is "constantly being emptied" and the do-it-yourself books "For Dummies".
A small shelving unit is full of the pocket books frequently picked up by travellers and rows of volumes with personal Arctic experiences create the perfect stopping ground for those who like to read a few pages before purchasing.
As far as selecting books for the display podiums and shelves section popular with tourists, Cooper says it is a matter of staying on top of the latest titles.
"I'll search around and see what's new. Usually I'll order about six copies of a new book and watch how well it sells."
In addition to overseeing the ordering, inventory and sales, Cooper also handles the mammoth magazine and newspaper selection on the main floor of the store.
"The magazines sell extremely well and every second or third day I'll get a suggestion from someone to bring a new title in," he says.
"The papers are always a steady business."
The newspaper selection includes a broadsheet from England, the occasional paper printed in Arabic and a weekly from Greenland. Several daily papers are also brought in.
"Working in the book department is usually a pretty quiet job, but there is always a lot to do," says Cooper before answering a call to fix a computer glitch elsewhere in the store.
