Stella & Roses Books in South Wales Argus
February 2000

SHOP WINDOW TO THE WORLD

Hi-tech has hit Tintern, but not a lot of people know it!

The delightful olde worlde façade of Stella Books hides an operation employing 13 full-time or part-time people using a sophisticated computer system linked to the Internet to supply books to customers all over the world.

With a stock of 30,000 books ranging from £2 to £2000, the shop itself is a treasure trove. Now it has access to many customers worldwide. There is a high-speed data link to Cardiff and the sister shop, Rose’s Books in Hay-On-Wye. Proprietor Cliff Tomaszewski and his wife Chris have been working flat out to get everything up and running and are justifiably very proud of what they have achieved.

Putting their own stock on computer was, in itself, a mammoth task. They, together with Rose’s Books, now provide a comprehensive service of books over the Internet, two retail shops, a book-search service for the public and in support of the acquisition sections in universities, mail order catalogues and antiquarian prints of the Wye Valley.

I was given a demonstration of the book search system. My enquiry for a 1960 Rupert the Bear annual (purely as an exercise, of course) was located in minutes. The day before a lady had come in, not even knowing the author of a book she was seeking, and they found it in the United States.

It’s this international connection that is really exciting. The system has a registered customer base of nearly 20,000, including people from America, Australia, Bangladesh and many other countries. Last week, a Canadian from Ontario walked in, clutching a copy of the shop’s Internet page.

With all the thousands of bookshops in the country, less than 500 are on the Internet and Stella are in the top five per cent of these. It is building a huge reputation for service and expertise particularly in the field of children’s and illustrated books.

During the time I was there the screens were working constantly. As I left and stepped out into the rural riverside surroundings, there were two people looking at the books in the window. I couldn't help wondering if they had any idea of what was going on inside.

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Article written by Grantley James of Tanglewood, Tintern