| Rosemary Belnap |
Rosemary and Steve Belnap own Walton Books, which was started in May of 1984 by Dean Walton. It is located at 680 W. Price River Drive, 637-8640.
At that time the store was located in the Castle Rock Square shopping center, in the area that is now part of Blockbuster Video.
Rosemary and her husband have owned the business since 1985. Even though the store was only 2,000 square feet, the inventory more than quadrupled in the nine years it was at that location. To keep up with the growth, a computer inventory system was added, and another computer that could look up any books still in print.
In 1994 the store was becoming very cramped and the decision was made to move to the present location. With twice as much room the inventory continued to increase and many new product lines were added. In addition to the teaching supplies that were added at the old store, scrapbook supplies, CTR rings, and many other sideline items are now part of the inventory.
Last year was very eventful for Walton Books. BookSense, a national campaign to band together independent bookstores, was started this year in the face of fierce competition from national chains. Walton Books joined BookSense in June, becoming a part of this movement to emphasize the importance of independent bookstores.
Another new advancement was the addition of an Internet service that can, for some titles, give information such as images of covers, citations, reviews, and descriptions. This resource makes available much more information on books that customers may be interested in, making ordering decisions even easier.
“Walton Books is proud to serve the area by encouraging literacy programs, supporting community activities, and providing a source to obtain wide varieties of information,” says Belnap.