Chener Books modernises with Google digital revamp scheme

A 40-year-old independent bookshop in London has undergone a digital transformation after its owner signed up to a Google project which pairs young people with businesses.

Poet and illustrator Miranda Peake set about revamping Chener Books in East Dulwich after taking it over last autumn following the death of its previous owner and founder, John Kennedy. Two months in, she was contacted about a technology scheme which sees young people contribute skills to businesses in need.

Now Sam Wallis, 18, and Hisham Dalton, 19, have joined forces with Peake to boost the shop's web presence as part of the digital strand of the Future London project, which is coordinated by the Google Digital Garage and Evening Standard newspaper. The teenagers and marketing agency co-founders have shared their knowledge of social media, graphic design, data analytics and website creation, working alongside other young members of the scheme.

Peake wanted to create a website and boost the social media presence of the store, which was opened by Kennedy in 1978, and previously boasted a “Black Books”-style interior complete with cupboard boxes and piles of books.

She has since changed some of the stock, introduced an events programme and tweaked opening days as part of “some gentle modernisation”, with four part-time employees now on board.

Guests visit the bookshop © Susan Black

Peake said the business has benefited from the teenagers’ tech skills. She said: "It is a really nice process because we’ve been working with all the young people who have all been amazing. We have had lots of input into the look the website reflects the culture of the shop. We’ve been working with the young people over the last few months over several meetings and the website itself should be ready in a few months."

Wallis purchased a domain name for Peake and used brand guidelines create a prototype for the website, adding a blog, children’s section and a section for a ‘Poem of the Week’ feature. Meanwhile Dalton created an Instagram and Facebook page for the store, updated the Twitter page as well as developing a social media plan.

Peake first worked at the store part-time whilst she was a student in London 15 years ago before pursuing a career in arts admin. She recently began working there again whilst studying for a Creative Writing MA at Royal Holloway University and took over the shop last October, five months after Kennedy died.

She has tweaked the stock with more of a poetry focus following her own background in it. "Probably our strongest sections are fiction and children's books - we have a big children's room in the shop catering for all ages, from baby books right up to YA fiction - we sell a lot of children's fiction particularly," said Peake. "We also specialise in poetry, with an ever-expanding selection of contemporary poetry."

Customers appear appreciative of the modernisation. "Trading seems very positive, we have made some changes which have had a real impact for us - we've opened later at the weekend and have opened the shop on Sundays for the first time, which has helped enormously and brought new customers in," Peale said.

The shop also launched a monthly events programme in December featuring authors and readings. "Now we are starting to do events, it is good to have more resources at our disposal,"  she said of the tech investment. "Starting to hold events and readings has also had a big impact and again opened the shop up to new audiences."