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Community support helps save locally owned Longview bookstore

In a time of slow business, the owner of a small bookstore in Longview was showered with community support after taking to social media for help.

LONGVIEW, Texas — Sometimes people just have to ask for help. One small East Texas business did just that, and their customers stepped up in a big way.

Downtown Longview is home to multiple unique small businesses, one of which is a little bookstore called Books and Barrels. Amber Hall has been coming through the doors since they opened in 2020.

"This is more to me than just a bookstore. It’s really like a community hub. You come here to get books to get fed with what she offers, but then you also develop relationships and get fed in other ways," Hall said.

 And that was the goal of owner Laura Nevils.

 "I just thought that Longview needed a little place for people to just come and be transported to some place different, and just be themselves," Nevils said.

But recently, business had been a little slow and Nevils took to social media with a post – showing the number of books they needed to sell by the end of the month.

"That number is to keep paying all the bills, just to keep us here," Nevils said.

 She wasn’t sure at first if it would be the right thing to do.

"I hesitated a little bit about making the post because I didn’t want to come off as needy or desperate," Nevils said.

But being transparent with the community she loves paid off -- literally.

 "We have passed our goal for the month, it’s been great. We did over 200 books in four days. I’m not sure we’ve ever sold over that many books in a month," Nevils said. 

While book lovers of Longview may be excited to hear the news, nobody is more excited and thankful for the support than Nevils herself.

 "We so appreciate it. We are overwhelmed and overjoyed – it’s exciting," Nevils said. 

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