Sponsor Letter, December 1st 2020

 Dear Sponsors,

I hope that the beginning of the holiday season has been happy and peaceful for you all.  I hope that you'll forgive the lack of a sponsor note last month but, as I mentioned in the store newsletter, though the year has been pretty crazy, the day-to-day at the shop is pretty boring so I didn't have much to tell you about.  However, this month I do have a few things to mention.

Sponsorship Renewals
We're ready to start accepting pre-orders for your 2021 sponsorship on-line.  The link is here - https://borderlands-books.com/buysponsorship . We've made one change this year; after many years of requests, there is now an option to have your sponsorship automatically renew each year. When you get to the second page, you'll have the option to make your sponsorship an "Automatic Renewal".  

You'll also notice that the option of making an extra donation to the "Moving and New Building Fund" is still present. I had hoped to be able to omit that this year.  But, I also hoped that we would have gotten moved this year.  But, 2020 (and COVID-19) had other plans.  If you feel like you can give a little extra help this year, it would be welcome.

I'm confident that we'll manage to navigate next year and get moved successfully.  But, I am concerned that the state of our funds may mean that the new shop will not, initially, be all that I hoped for.  2020 has been an expensive year for all the reasons that you can imagine and the funds that I had set aside to cover build-out and moving cost have been depleted by about 50%.  That doesn't mean we won't be able to move but it could mean that, once we're done, the floors will be industrial carpet, rather than wood, and the bookshelves may be the same as we have now, rather than the built-ins that I was planning.

How that shakes out (and, on a more fundamental level, how we continue to operate) is going to be, at least partially, dependent on the support that you can show us this year.  So, as always, I would love to have your support in 2021 but, if you decide that this is the year you need to direct your money elsewhere -- thank you from the bottom of my heart for the support you've given us.  It changed Borderlands for the better in more ways than I think anyone could have imagined and I appreciate it more than I can say.

Private Shopping
In addition to offering the curb-side pickup that I mentioned in the Newsletter, we're also offering another service for sponsors to help you stay safe this winter.  If you're concerned about the exposure risks in being out in public, we are offering private shopping by appointment.  You can arrange with us to come in outside of normal business hours and you'll be the only person in the shop other than the person working the counter.  We have appointments available every day at 6:15 and 6:30 pm but we're also happy to accommodate other times, either before 11 am or later than 6:30.

If you're interested, just drop me an email at sponsors@borderlands-books.com or call the shop and let me know what time you'd like to come in. You're welcome to come alone or you can bring guests with you if you like.  We'd prefer that you limit your visit to 30 minutes but, if you'd like to have more time, let me know and we'll work it out. Before you arrive, we'll have the air filters on full and the rear window open to clear the air in the shop and we'll also sanitize the counter and bathroom areas.

Of course, the safest option will still be to order by mail but, sometimes, it's just not the same.  Also, as we get closer to the end of the month, I expect that the postage system will start to have delays and problems due to the sheer volume of shipping.

Upcoming Preview Sale
Finally, I've confirmed that I will be buying the collection that I mentioned in the last newsletter.  I will be getting it in mid-January and my plan is to offer our sponsors a preview sale before any of the books are offered to the public.  To refresh your memory, this is a 2000-3000 volume collection of almost exclusively 21st century works in very nice condition and some small presses (Subterranean and Centipede) are well represented so I think there will be some very interesting titles.  I do and will not have an inventory until after the sale but, as we did in the past, I will post high-quality pictures of the books on the shelves just prior to the event.  If you can't make it in person, you can refer to the pictures and place orders by phone.

I'll have more details for you in January or, perhaps, February.  And yes, I'm thinking about how to manage the sale while maintaining a safe environment for people who attend in person.  I haven't come to any conclusions yet and I'm definitely considering the possibility of doing the entire sale "virtually".

And that's about all the news I have for now.  When you next hear from me, we'll have seen the back of 2020 and I'm really looking forward to this awful, awful year being over.  Please have a safe, happy and calm holiday along with a joyous New Year.  

I'll leave you with a quote that I think, though appropriate all the time, is especially appropriate in December.  "It's a little embarrassing that after 45 years of research & study, the best advice I can give people is to be a little kinder to each other." - Aldous Huxley

The end of this year, more than most (or, perhaps, any) in my memory, will benefit from as much kindness as we can spare.

Warmest Wishes,
Alan