ELIZABETH CAMPBELL FINDS A 'NOVEL' APPROACH TO SELLING BOOKS
Elizabeth Campbell knows books. That's in large part due to the fact she's had her nose in books for as long as she can remember. After all, when you live 'out in the sticks' as Campbell describes the outskirts of Keewatin where she and her brother Malcolm grew up, it helps to have something to do to keep your fertile young mind occupied. "My parents always encouraged it...reading was just a natural," explains Elizabeth, adding "you had nothing else to do and so you read." Campbell's love of reading continued unabated throughout her academic career. "By the time I left Keewatin Public School, I had finished reading the entire library there," laughs Elizabeth, adding thoughtfully "so I was a little overwhelmed when I moved to University and saw the sizes of the libraries..."
Today, Campbell remains surrounded by books, having opened Elizabeth Campbell Books in 1991 in a place with which she was very much familiar. Her father began an electrical appliance and repair business called Campbell Brothers on Main Street in Kenora back in 1976. Elizabeth marvels at the fact that she works in the same building her dad's business operated out of more than three decades ago. Over time, toasters gave way to textbooks - dishwashers to digests. Campbell estimates she has more than fifty thousand books for sale. And while the vast majority of those books aren't new, the way Elizabeth sells many of them is somewhat 'novel'.
Elizabeth Campbell says using the Internet has made a big difference in how she does business. Campbell does buying and special ordering on line, and offers her vast collection for sale and on auction through her website, www.ecbooks.ca "It's opened things wide for me...a lot of those are books that probably would never sell in Kenora," asserts Elizabeth, who adds "one of my main specialties is Archaeology, for example. There are a very limited number of Archaeologists in town here. However, I sell those types of books internationally...as far away as Italy or Iceland." Campbell's home library contains about three thousand titles. And while most fond of mysteries, Elizabeth lists her favourite book as 'The Blue Castle' by Lucy Maud Montgomery. "I've read it I don't know how many times," smiles Campbell, "if I'm feeling a little bit down-hearted about something, I pull it out and I read it and it just makes me feel good."
Elizabeth has also collected a number of interesting stories during her career. One revolves around the time famed Canadian author Alice Munro paid an unannounced...and nearly anonymous...visit to Campbell's bookstore. The rest resembles a fictional short story the likes of which Munro has penned. It seems the author, who Campbell hadn't recognized, left her wallet behind. "She paid for a book and walked out...she'd been talking to the clerk and she forgot it," explains Campbell, who remembered that Munro had left in search of coffee. "We were phoning around to all the places we knew that sold coffee," recalls Elizabeth, who told those she called that "if a little lady comes in, her name's Alice...she left her wallet at Elizabeth Campbell Books, tell her to come pick it up!" Eventually Munro did return, thus providing a happy ending to the tale.
Campbell also collects books about the history of the Lake of the Woods area, and cites 'Dancing With a Ghost' by Kenora Assistant Crown Attorney Rupert Ross as the most famous local novel so far. It deals with the issues surrounding Cree and Ojibway philosophy, and how it often clashes with the justice system. "It was by far the best seller for me," recounts Elizabeth, "it sold all over the world...it was a Canadian Best Seller, it was big time." While running what she calls one of Canada's best used book stores has been a wonderful experience, Campbell says the best part of her job is meeting fellow readers. "I just love people who love books," beams Elizabeth, "it's always fun to hear what people are doing and reading, and to find a new book to read that introduces me to a new author...there's an interaction that goes on that's really gratifying."
If you'd like a little self-gratification in the form of a new (well, 'fine used'...but new to you!) publication, visit Elizabeth Campbell Books at 129 Main Street South in Kenora, or see what she has to offer on her website at www.ecbooks.ca