Charlene Miller read to her son Michael, left, as Eva Morgan read to her son James in the Barnes & Noble Booksellers children's book section.

Rebecca Plain of Benton, left, and Marlene Lyon of Sikeston, enjoyed a beverage and conversation at the Barnes & Noble Cafe after selecting books to buy.

Ann Collier, left, and Angie Diecher browsed through books at Waldenbooks at the West Park Mall.

With three major chain bookstores sitting less than a mile apart, Cape Girardeau is one of the toughest book markets in the country.

Waldenbooks is inside West Park Mall. Barnes & Noble sits in front of the mall, and Hastings Books, Music and Video is just down in the street in the Town Plaza. Add in a small downtown bookstore, a few Christian bookstores and a few used bookstores and the competition rages.

Consumers stand to benefit from the situation. Each location must fill a niche by offering lower prices, special services or wider selections.

Of the three major chains, Waldenbooks has been in Cape Girardeau the longest. Manager Steve Turner remembered working at the location five years ago, before Hastings and Barnes & Noble came to town. The mall yielded plenty of traffic, making advertising almost unnecessary.

Turner left Cape Girardeau, worked at several other Waldenbooks in other cities then came back to find a much different situation.

"It has to be obvious that the amount of competition here in Cape is more pronounced that in most other areas," he said. "Even in St. Louis, people have to travel a ways to get to the competition. But we're holding our own."

Consumers can expect to see changes at Waldenbooks in the near future. The store already discounts the top 10 sellers and offers a Preferred Reader card good for additional discounts.

Turner said the books may be moved around to make them easier to find and more accessible to shoppers.

Hastings emphasizes its video selection as a way to attract book customers, manager Deborah Jung said. The store also offers music, computer software, calendars and greeting cards.

"I think that every customer has one thing they come in for," Jung said. "Then you see them wander around the store."

Employees on the corporate level are aware of Cape Girardeau's stiff competition, she said. Hastings stores usually open in areas with 100,000 or less population and very rarely compete against Barnes & Noble.

Barnes & Noble opened over a year ago with a different marketing technique than either existing chain bookstore. Inside the shop is a Starbuck's, and customers are encouraged to stick around for coffee and browsing.

"We have people who come in here for six hours at a time," manager Russ Middleton said. "Every night when we close, we wake someone up who fell asleep in a big chair. We don't push people to buy every time they come in the store. Book lovers will always buy when they get ready."

Barnes & Noble also offers a variety of programs to attract book lovers, including weekly chess games and book discussions.