Sep. 9--Inside the Avid Reader at Broadway and Land Park Drive, Gregg Geeting is in search of a book, but he's not sure which one.

He consults with the owner behind the counter of the independent, neighborhood bookstore about his need: A gift book for a music lover who has lived through a lot.

Within minutes, Geeting is holding a weighty tome that he deems perfect -- an account of artists during the Great Depression. It's not the kind of satisfaction he would get online, in a big-box store or a grocery store, he said.

"I wouldn't have thought to look," at any of the other outlets for book buyers.

Bookstores are counting on customers like Geeting who treasure books and their reading experiences enough to still buy books the old- fashioned way.

The ground is shifting under bookstores as they gird against growing competition from online giants such as Amazon.com or warehouse retailers such as Costco. Technological changes in the way we read books, such as on electronic readers, are a growing challenge that has yet to gain a significant toehold, booksellers say.

Independent bookstores, such as the Avid Reader, as well as national chains, like Borders, are trying to reshape themselves to hold on to their share of the market.

Book-selling, a "mature" business with low profit margins, is expected to grow slowly, remaining in the single-digit percentage range, according to Morningstar, a Chicago-based research investment firm.

Cutting costs and expanding market share are the best hope for book retailers, analysts for the firm say.

Some bookstores, even independents, offer online sales and at least some downloading options.

By operating his bookstore efficiently -- four employees -- and stocking the shelves for a narrowly defined niche, Stan Forbes has kept the Avid Reader going through a recession and diminished the threat of challenges like electronic-book readers.

"People thank us for being here," he said. "Hardly a day goes by that we're not complimented on our selection."

Forbes focuses on what he likes to call "the NPR crowd," and frequently stocks books featured on National Public Radio, eschewing shelf space for mass-market titles.

Bookstore chains are also riding a rough year. Sales at Borders Group Inc., the second-largest book "superstore" operator in the country, plummeted 12 percent this year, causing the company to enlist new management, sweep out CDs and DVDs, and shave costs, Morningstar noted.