For Research, Investigation, and Skill Development

Chapter 7: Incorporating Bookstores into Your Core Business (5)

The examples so far have been aimed at people outside the company, but there are also bookstores aimed at employees. For example, when you suddenly need a trending book, the latest issue of a magazine, or the day's newspaper as reference material, it is fastest to buy it at a bookstore within your own office building rather than ordering from an online bookstore.

Also, if a book is frequently referenced by many employees for work, it is good to have a well-stocked library within the company. The more specialized the work, such as in research positions, the more expensive or difficult to obtain the materials can be. It is operated as a place for employees to conduct training for skill development or to browse the shelves to come up with new ideas.

It is also important to encourage effective use through workshops and study groups. As employees' knowledge and skills improve, it directly becomes the company's competitive strength.

CASE 12: An IT company operates a technical bookstore within the company

A rapidly growing IT company. Because they are short on staff, they are actively hiring. Since many of the employees are engineers, they opened a bookstore specializing in technical books on the first floor of their office building. It is located in a place where the general public can also enter, and they frequently hold events.

It is popular with employees because they can get the latest technical books immediately when they need them. Young employees with lower skill levels have started gathering to hold voluntary study sessions. It is also frequently used by engineers and students working in nearby offices, and they have even started receiving job applications from the recruitment information posted in the store.

CASE 13: A technical company manages a vast library

The R&D department of an automobile manufacturer. Specialized knowledge in various fields is stocked, ranging from materials to design, from transportation to the global environment, and in recent years, information technology including AI. They had multiple locations, and they began operating a library by consolidating and classifying all the books and materials that had previously been scattered throughout the company.

It can be accessed from the internal system, and reserved books are delivered to the desk by the next day, even at a different location. Since data on who borrowed what and when can also be referenced, it has become possible to talk to people who have read the same book before reading it, or to exchange opinions after reading it.

*Reprinted from "The Future Bookstore Reader" P278-281 / Illustration: Kohei Ashino