Baskets of grey and red yarn sit on a small table as a young boy and girl learn how to knit. Behind them is a wall of shelves stocked with a rainbow of yarn and knitting needles.

Though it is first and foremost a bookstore, the BookMark Shoppe in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn would not be able to survive on books alone; the almost daily celebrity signings and writing and knitting workshops are the store’s main source of business.

“If we did not host events,” store owner Christine Freglette said, “we would have to close our location or at least downsize.” Although she has noticed an increase in sales in the past two years, it is simply not enough.

From the time of its opening in 2003 in Dyker Heights, the BookMark Shoppe hosted events and workshops. The store soon outgrew its location and reopened in Bay Ridge in 2006, which Freglette said helped to increase the store’s foot traffic.

It was always her dream to open a bookstore. “As a child I would pretend sick to stay home and read all day,” Freglette said.

The glass storefront of the BookMark Shoppe advertises store events and holds a tall maroon banner that encourages passersby to “EAT/SLEEP/READ LOCAL.” A white banner in promotion of an offsite event at a local restaurant hangs on the store’s awning and the large tree out front wears a colorful crochet sweater. Inside, round and square tables are stacked with books. A long bookcase of fiction and mystery books lines the left wall. Children’s books fill the back corner of the store.

It was long prophesized that print books would die at the hands of the e-book when Amazon first launched the Kindle in 2007, but a recent Nielson Books & Consumers survey found that print books are not as endangered as many believed. According to the survey, hardcover and paperback books outsold e-books at a combined 67% of market sales in the first half of 2014, with e-books at 23%.

Booklovers agree that reading an e-book is no substitute for its paper counterpart.

“This is going to sound super cheesy,” Strand Bookstore customer Priyanka Shah said, “but it’s like a journey. The smell of them, having that book crack for the first time when you open it when it’s brand new… It feels better in your hands than a tablet.”

Even with the rise in print book sales, both independent and chain bookstores still struggle to compete with Amazon, which alone holds 39% of the market. Independent bookstores only make up about 3%, while chain bookstores come in at 21%.

Ry Patwary, a Union Square canvasser, said that shopping online restricts a person’s selection of titles. “A lot of times when you’re at the bookstore, you’ll find a book that you never would have probably searched up on e-books,” he said. “Bookstores open you up to a lot more selection than the internet would, in my opinion.”

Selection is not all bookstores have to offer, however. The stores also serve as social gathering places that don’t only bring together friends and family, but also the store and its customers.

BookCourt, another indie bookstore based in Brooklyn, holds events almost every day at its Court Street location. The store, which opened in 1981, boasts of being “one of the city’s most important independent bookstores,” but remains in-tune with the local community. Andrew Unger, BookCourt’s publicity and events coordinator explained that the relationship independent bookstores have with their customers is one of reciprocated thanks. “Its main importance is in what it means to our customers,” Ugner said. “It is definitely difficult at times, but we have an incredibly supportive community. Our events are our chance to give back everything that they’ve put in.”

The wide range of writers and events that these bookstores hold don’t only attract locals, but also bring in residents from other parts of the city. The BookMark Shoppe has booked celebrities from Jersey Shore’s Vinny Guadagnino, to bestselling author Jen Lancaster and everyone in between. “That’s the pleasure of hosting events and workshops,” Freglette said. “We cater to everyone from everywhere.”

Despite all of the bumps in the road, the BookMark Shoppe has given new life to the words “independent bookstore,” and remains the only bookstore in Bay Ridge. Freglette is determined to take on the various challenges the changing market will throw at her and continue to employ creative solutions to all of them. “I’m hoping to keep evolving with the times,” she said.