Over the past half century, Second Story Books has provided the greater Washington, DC metropolitan area access to an unlimited and rich reading experience. From their original small second floor location on Connecticut Avenue, Second Story Books, an ABAA/ILAB member since 1976, has evolved as an internationally respected bookseller dealing in antiquarian and out-of-print books, art, ephemera and general used books with two locations. In this interview, owner and founder Allan Stypeck discusses his long career in bookselling and appraising and his parallel career in television and documentary making.
On the present:
One of the traditional advantages of having a walk-in bookstore in Washington D.C. was the customer base, consisting of local residents, tourists, and the large federal government bureaucracy, which includes the collateral organizations and law firms associated with the government (aka the K Street Corridor). The average Washington-area family demographic is above average with two-income, college-educated households and was thought to be recession proof. With the advent of the Covid outbreak, that stability was greatly challenged.
Like the rest of the country, we were forced to shut down operations for over a year and then reopen with very restrictive social distancing regulations. Compounding these issues was the reality that the majority of government workers primarily began working remotely and tourism became almost non-existent. Local Metro ridership (essential to our location because of the lack of street parking) was down about 90% and the vacancy rate of commercial businesses, restaurants and office spaces was at an all-time high. The immediate post-Covid effect showed a substantial drop in our weekday foot traffic, which, to date, has not rebound to pre-Covid levels primarily due to work-from-home allowances becoming the new normal. Regardless, we have been able to get back to a reliable retail operation due to a combination of aggressive social media advertising, special promotions and a loyal local customer base.
During the immediate post-COVID period, sales in our Rockville, Maryland retail operation increased substantially due to its spacious retail area (16,000 square feet) making it easier to social distance. Free parking to accommodate over 75 vehicles is another asset since it’s not located in a traditional commercial area. In addition, we initiated an extremely aggressive social media program resulting in our Rockville customer base increasing by over 300 percent since 2022.
One of the most popular activities at the Rockville location is our Free Appraisal Day on the last Saturday of each month. It is similar to the ABAA book fairs’ appraisal days and has become a monthly community event. At this point, we have a staff of five people, including myself, providing appraisals and assisting with the event.
We underwrite It’s Academic for WETA, the Washington D.C. public television station. The sponsorship has been very successful as we have seen a definite surge in family-oriented customers in the Rockville location. We have also underwritten some of their other local programming, including documentaries on Ernest Hemingway, Ben Franklin, and Jane Austen.
I was one of the original appraisers on Antiques Roadshow (Season 1 and 2). I left Roadshow and in 2011 became an appraiser on Maryland Public Television’s (MPT) local version of Antiques Roadshow called Chesapeake Collectibles. The 10th anniversary of the taping of the show was in 2019. In 2020, Covid shut down the studio. In 2023, MPT announced they were bringing back Chesapeake Collectibles because it had been the number one show on the network. I thought it would be the perfect time to remind people of the show’s history. I went to the producer and said, "Hey, why don't we do a behind-the- scenes of Chesapeake Collectibles?" I pitched it as a half hour show and they said "what about an hour instead?" So, the Second Story Books media team, with MPT providing production assistance, created an hour-long best of Chesapeake Collectibles documentary. MPT originally thought it would be a good way to close the 2024 season series (taped in 2023) but after watching the finished product, MPT decided to premier the show as the opening of the 2024 pledge week programing, resulting in MPT exceeding its pledge goal the evening it aired.
After seeing how well received the documentary was, I proposed to the MPT producer of Chesapeake Collectibles an idea for four one-hour specials to be aired during the 2026 season. MPT programming throughout 2026 will focus on the sesquicentennial of the American Revolution, encompassing the history of the state of Maryland through material education and historical site visits. We have been given the green light to go forward with the project and are currently in pre-production preparation.
As we expanded our appraisal services and online sales presence, we expanded our use of video presentations to include oral histories for appraisals and collections for sale, physical images of items and collections and specific presentations and community events. A perfect example is the videos we created with book and manuscript collector and dedicated philanthropist Albert Small, which includes items from the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia, The Albert H. Small Museum of Washingtoniana at George Washington University and the Albert H. Small Normandy Institute at George Washington University.
The initial video was an interview with Albert. Actually, it was a labor of love that my wife Kim and I made when I was working on his Washingtoniana collection. We wanted to give it to him as a birthday/holiday present. We gave it to his executive secretary to play at his birthday party at George Washington University. I was sitting next to Steve Trackenberg, who was, at that time, the president of GW. He said, "Could you pare this down to seven minutes and make it the orientation video for the museum?" With the help of our long-time editor on video projects we created a version which is played when you enter the Museum.
The evolution of using oral history interview videos for collections we appraise has fit quite well with the operation of our bookstores and online sales. We recently prepared two feature-length videos to accompany archival appraisals. One was with Bob Gersony, a USAID worker contracted by the U.S. State Department and the subject of geo-political author Robert Kaplan’s biography The Good American. Mr. Gersony’s papers are going to the Jackson School at Yale University. The other is with Peter Bergen about his archives. Peter is an internationally respected CNN correspondent, author and national security analyst who was one of the first western journalists to interview Osama bin Laden in 1997. His archives, interviews and all his documentary work done with CNN and individually was donated to Georgetown University. As a professional documentary maker and career journalist, Peter was an exceptional interviewee. I asked him one question and he ran with it for 45 minutes.
The opportunities that various media create have greatly enhanced Second Story Books’ perspective on bookselling. Taking advantage of the multiple uses of social media to encourage the tactile bookstore experience is a necessity in the 21st century. It is the bookseller’s responsibility to provide the total scope and content of the printed word, especially in an era of immediate access to information.
I have had the honor to represent many senior members of the government, including Robert McNamara, Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell and Henry Kissinger, individuals who have directly influenced history. Our obligation as booksellers and archival appraisers has never been more critical to preserve the historical and literary perspectives of previous generations.
Second Story Books, Dupont Circle
On changes in bookselling over time:
In 1994, I and co-host Mike Cuthbert created, co-produced and hosted The Book Guys radio show which aired on over 60 NPR stations. At the time, Mike Cuthbert and I were investigating the concept of using the internet for selling online. We were approached by the developers of Interlock (one of the first online bookselling platforms) who approached us for an on-air interview. After the interview, they offered me $8,000 to put 8000 books online. I said to Mike, who was interested in internet technology, why don't you come to Second Story part time and initiate the project? We'll get 8,000 books, we'll put them online and we'll see if this works. As we were working together on the radio, it seemed a logical opportunity and he joined Second Story Books in our newly created online sales department. In the first year, I think we sold $253 worth of books. I remember we popped the champagne when we sold our first $10 book. Now thirty years later, the internet is a lifeline for the majority of antiquarian booksellers.
The dependency on the internet for the majority has, in most probability, sustained the necessary income for many booksellers who previously relied on walk-in bookstores and the annual book fairs. The internet has initiated a form of laissez-faire economics within the bookselling community. We still have control of our inventories and certainly influence the market-place pricing, but we are now subject to a considerable rise in online competition. Having access to the global marketplace has obviously increased the potential of booksellers’ sales but has created enormous citations for the same titles. With the exception of the scarce and highly desirable titles, how does one sell a book with so much competition online?
I can recall the pre-internet years at the annual book fairs when set-up had an energy. That energy has waned substantially over the last ten years. I once sold a Kelmscott Chaucer the morning of set-up for what I thought was a record price before I could get it out of the shipping trunk. The same copy changed hands at least three times before the fair opened to the public that evening with it displayed in another dealer’s booth. Now your inventory is available and can be seen immediately upon listing it online. The upside of social media for book fairs is that it has stimulated a higher turnout of first-time attendees. Hopefully, the participating booksellers can influence first-time attendees to become new collectors.
Second Story has always appreciated our customer loyalty and, regardless of the economic advantages that internet and online auction sales can potentially generate, we will retain our bricks-and-mortar locations and maintain our obligation to the community. We recently were honored by a proclamation issued by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser congratulating Second Story on its 50th Anniversary as an ongoing bookstore in Washington D.C.
As the core generation of living book collectors (aka the Boomers) has, as a group, begun liquidating their collections due to downsizing or other reasons, most booksellers have been able to substantially increase their inventories.
To compensate for the influx of repetitive general stock, we offer substantial discounts at our Rockville warehouse location. Our aggressive social media promotions continue to significantly increase our customer base.
In my opinion, the most significant challenge that is front and center now and will be in the future is the feasibility of maintaining a continual customer base. With constant technological changes and an increasing younger generational disinterest in tactile reading, the bookselling trade must compensate for these daunting obstacles.
Before Covid, the only time we would noticeably see a reduction in foot traffic was when the Washington Redskins (now Washington Commanders) were playing. To quote Washington’s former head coach George Allen’s autobiography title The Future is Now. This is certainly applicable to our approach to bookselling. From our perspective, there is no time to waste. We must amplify our trade presence to both our institutional and private-sector clientele maintaining our dedication to providing access to the vast history and continual appreciation of the printed word.