PHOTO PROVIDED A post-expansion view of Otto Bookstore, 107 W. Fourth St.

The Otto Bookstore, one of America’s oldest independently owned bookstores, is located in the heart of Williamsport and its recent expansion is fast becoming a real page turner.

The bookstore at 107 W. Fourth St. has physically expanded in size to make space that will double its available inventory, a new chapter in this store’s history dating back to 1841. It goes from 21,000 titles to 60,000 once the inventory arrives.

“Exciting isn’t it?” asked John Shableski, store general manager, in a recent Sun-Gazette interview on the status of the store and updates on the expansion which began in early April.

Shableski, who has been in publishing for more than 25 years, said he believes that people find real comfort in the “tactile” experience of turning a page of a book, especially a mother, parent, grandparent or great-grandparent – holding a youngster and reading to him/her under a light.

He said he is finding there to be a new generation of readers who want other kinds of experiences, too.

Today, the store has a new “event space” where book signings, podcasts and talks take place, with a director’s chair for the authors.

“Last night we had open mic poetry – which is done once a month,” Shableski said, adding the plan is to have three podcasts, two of which will feature original music.

The titles inside on the shelves are impressive and growing.

For example, in the fantasy category there used to be about 3 linear feet, or about a single bookshelf. Now, the store offers 36 linear feet for these books. The same with horror, science fiction and other categories, he remarked.

Otto’s is carrying more children’s titles – the kind that parents and their children are looking for, based on feedback. Otto’s expanded its graphic novels category from what was originally three titles to between 911 and 1,100.

“I’ve lost count,” Shableski said, adding a lot of it has been “curating a store for what the community is looking for.”

He said getting to know what the community wants requires doing the research and hearing back from the readers. “You can take a look online and follow social media, whether it’s TikTok or Facebook or any of those platforms to find out what the general market is reading because those people are finding the books somewhere,” he said. “We are finding we are hitting all the right notes.”

As an example of meeting that demand, author Sarah J. Maas, known for pioneering “romantasy” who has a huge local following, greeted her fans two years ago when Otto’s held an event with the author. It was packed, bringing in $1,400 of business in a single hour. Shableski observed.

Moreover, Otto’s staff can order anything and that helps the staff to determine what it needs to be carrying.

“We want and are getting a growing audience of people who want this cozy and welcoming experience when they walk through the door,” Shableski said. Otto’s is a store that is steeped in tradition.

“Yeah, that is an amazing legacy,” Shableski said of being established in 1841. “I think what is wonderful about that is that’s was truly the beginning days of American publishing,” he said.

Before then, there was Benjamin Franklin and his newspapers, and tiny publishing houses, but the true authors’ voices for America, he added, must be said to start with Henry David Thoreau, the naturalist and essayist, and a decade or so later, Mark Twain, adventurer and world traveler, and then a growing industry of authors and publishing houses.

In the late 1800s came the introduction of dime novels, where books became affordable to the average population and literacy expanded.

“We ran parallel to that,” Shableski said. “We’ve been here the whole time and survived all of that, so going through the history bookstores and retail in this town Otto’s became that place where people expected to find books.”

Engagement and

interaction

In 1841, it opened as A.D. Lundy and Co., which sold window shades, wallpaper, insurance and, of course, books, according to WVIA. The news site noted that by the turn of the 20th century, the name changed to The Loan Book Shop run by John Otto, according to the store’s online history published by the public television station. In 1905, Jack Roesgen began working at the store. He bought it from the Otto family in 1940. He died in 1958, and his daughter, Betsy Rider, and wife, Margaret Roesgen, took over. Betsy and her husband, John Rider, kept the love for literature alive in Williamsport while raising 10 children, eight of whom worked in the store. She could often be heard as the voice in the advertisement “Otto’s a booklovers’ paradise since 1841 in Downtown Williamsport.”

In the late 1980’s, Lycoming County had about seven bookstores in the local market. Today, Otto’s is re-engaging with the community in ways that it did not before shopping sites such as Amazon emerged.

“What Amazon presented was an opportunity for Indie retail to step outside their comfort zone and to become engaged,” Shableski said.

“I will say this until I die – you have to earn loyalty . . . you can’t just only assume it and you’ve got to open the doors,” he said.

One of the first things that happened when Shableski took over as general manager was an expansion of the hours of operation from closing at 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday; Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

A welcoming atmosphere

Two sets of French doors have been installed, and the other doors were turned into windows that got sealed off to expand the children’s section.

Shableski said he is grateful for the experts who gave the interior design its special touches.

The space has a section for early childhood literacy to fifth grade. There are going to be shelves with inventory for added titles of fiction and horror and a Pennsylvania (PA) Wilds corner with trail guides, maps, books on foraging, hiking, biking, kayaking, hunting and fishing.

The contractor designing it all was Paul Follmer.

“We never drew plans,” Shableski said, adding how when Follmer came in they would talk about what would go where. Among the impressive designs added is a book arch. The books form an arch and stay in place with nail glue and screws and brackets. Every six rows there is a bracket in place with the arch seemingly defying gravity.

Additionally, Lisa Fink recommended the paint color of blue tints for the walls.

“Just brilliant,” Shableski said of the color tones she selected. “I looked at her and said, ‘I trust you,'” he said. The colors match the store logo on the banner. “It’s got a really great quality feel to it,” he said of the interior paint on the walls.

The floor was upgraded and the shelves are legacy pieces.

When asked when the expansion would be completed, he laughed, with a homage to a popular fantasy story. “It’s a never-ending story I don’t know, probably in about three months,” he said.

Another striking addition at Otto’s is Erik and Fredrik, one is 700 and the other is 500 years old dragons – who are the “keepers of all of the best stories.” Shableski said he is going to add for Erik and Fredrik, some moss, ferns, fronds and elephant grass – to make it look like a habitat where the dragons would live. “They’re actually named after the owner’s sons who are 5 and 7,” he said. They move and growl but Shableski said he refused to have the sound on auto repeat during the day.

“No, only for special events,” he said, smiling.

As more evolution of the interior of the store is finalized the plan is to add a mirror on one wall so people coming in can take selfies and catch the book arch in their shots.

As for their business plan, over the past two years, Otto’s average daily increase in business is holding about 20%.

“That is fantastic in any space that you work in,” Shableski said. He credited much of that interest in readership and business with expanding a lot of the categories that were largely overlooked before.

“Yeah, you do 5% increase and that’s nice but 20% is phenomenal.”