Material World
Independent bookstore
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Now 35 years old, Broadside Bookshop has outlived one chain bookstore after another by giving people what they want when they want it. Between the presidential election and the inauguration, for example, customers wanted books by Obama, especially "Dreams From My Father," and Broadside was ready for them. An emphasis on local authors and events like poetry readings and signings give this store a place of its own in Northampton's cultural life, and its staff is working on a plan to extend the Buy Local concept beyond food to other types of businesses.