Destinations Booksellers began in New Albany, Indiana, in 2004, as a full-service, independent bookseller for new books across all genres. Before that, it had been 57 years since our city had a new-books bookstore.
Now in our 12th year of operations, we strive to provide a level of service and selection that is extraordinary, and to date, our patrons seem to think we do.
Gary Vanerchuk, in his March 2011 book, The Thank You Economy, describes the type of merchants we aspire to be like this:
“Today, individuals and brands that “out-care” and “out-love” their competition—those emphasizing quality, value, responsiveness, and attention to detail, among other essentials—see the biggest returns.”
As an independent, locally owned business, we are a part of our community and our “returns” are reinvested in this community through our own purchases. We are founding members of New Albany First, the local organization of independent businesses. Whenever possible, we make our business and personal purchases with businesses of the same stripe, knowing that such habits yield 3 times the benefit to our local economy – making our community safer, healthier, and more livable.
We are located in New Albany’s newly designated Cultural District, the successor to the city’s ArtsWalk, and straddle the divide between the historic downtown business district to our west and the historic Midtown neighborhood. We are about 150 yards from the Ohio River Greenway and the Ohio River, and just 10 minutes from downtown Louisville, Kentucky. In fact, many of our patrons we serve are Kentucky residents.
Our business charitable efforts are focused on 3 fields of interest: literacy, historic preservation, and public arts. In addition, we offer other causes and organizations an ongoing opportunity to raise funds by directing beneficiaries and other stakeholders to our store during a cause-specific time period in which we will donate a portion of those receipts to the organization by making a cash or in-kind donation.
Destinations Booksellers offers free wi-fi (password required) and meeting space for groups, and has a working kitchen for catered events.
We offer online secure shopping 24 hours a day for books, music, and movies. Items available there are frequently available in the store within a day or two, so for books purchases, it might be better to contact the store by phone or e-mail. We also offer an attractive program for renting college textbooks, with free shipping both ways. Many patrons have found this to be an outstanding way to save money.
We are a proud supporter of the New Albany Public Art Project.
Randy Smith and Ann Baumgartle are the owners of Destinations Booksellers.
CONTACT US:
Destinations Booksellers
604 E. Spring St., New Albany, IN 47150
by e-mail: destinationsbooksellers@gmail.com
on the Web: destinationsbooksellers.com
NewAlbanyBooks 
I am assuming we just come into the store to purchase our ticket for the reception. Please reserve two seats for Dave and Bonnie Thrasher.
Yep. That’s the idea, and you are officially on the list. We need a hard number for the afterglow, so ppd tix are essential. If you have trouble coming in, I can take cc payments over the phone, too. We’re really looking forward to this return visit.