Locally Owned Businesses vs. Retail Chains Shop Local Notable Title List A selection of informative titles on the importance of building and strengthening a vibrant local economy. (pdf file) The Institute for Local Self-Reliance's Big Box Tool Kit A new online resource for citizens groups working to stop sprawling big-box development, change their community's land use and economic development policies, and expand locally owned businesses. Studies Economic Impact Analysis: A Case Study -- Local Merchants vs. Retail Chains December 2002 report, prepared for Liveable City by Civic Economics, assessing the impact of local merchants, specifically Austin, Texas' BookPeople and Waterloo Records, relative to the impact of chain stores. http://www.bookweb.org/graphics/pdfs/lamar.pdf Also detailed in a slideshow: http://www.bookweb.org/docs/economicimpact/slide5.htm. The Economic Impact of Locally Owned Businesses vs. Chains: A Case Study in Midcoast Maine. Institute for Local Self-Reliance: September 2003. http://www.newrules.org/retail/midcoaststudy.pdf The Andersonville Study of Retail Economics, 2004 report by Civic Economics comparing the economic impact of 10 local businesses in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago versus their chain competitors. www.andersonvillestudy.com The San Francisco Retail Diversity Study May 2007 study commissioned by the San Francisco Locally Owned Merchants Alliance (SFLOMA) and conducted by Civic Economics. Organizations American Independent Business Alliance, www.amiba.net: Helps organizers start and sustain Independent Business Alliances (IBAs). Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, www.livingeconomies.org: BALLE is an international alliance of 25 independently operated local business networks with more than 4,500 members dedicated to building Local Living Economies. Institute for Local Self-Reliance, www.ilsr.org: Promotes sustainable communities. Its retail section is at www.hometownadvantage.org. Related News Articles from Bookselling This Week