When we moved downtown, we immediately attracted working people looking for a place where they could relax for a while. Even with the new chain bookstores in town, our downtown customers have remained a constant. In addition to steady weekday customers and Saturday shoppers, book dealers drive over from the Carolinas or from New Orleans, and collectors call in orders from Santa Fe and New York City, from England and Japan. A diverse clientele requires a diverse selection of books. From the beginning, Choctaw Books focused on Southern history and literature, with a special emphasis on Civil War and Mississippi-related books, and it has remained committed to these fields.
Fiction is more or less alphabetical by author, with an excellent selection.
A separate room of modern first editions, advanced readers' copies, and uncorrected proofs is where the store truly distinguishes itself. Choctaw Books has established a national reputation as a specialist in books on the South. And with 70,000 volumes, it is the largest used hardback store in the state. I think people have a tendency to forget the value of a used bookstore to a community. People find old books in their grandmother's attic, and they go to Fred to assess their value.