Books-A-Million was founded in 1917 in
Florence, Alabama, Anderson saw a business opportunity after workers on the nearby
Wilson Dam complained that they could not get their hometown newspapers. In 1950, Charles C. Anderson, the founder's son, inherited the store and expanded it into a chain. In 1998, the company launched its
website, booksamillion.com. In 1999, the company acquired NetCentral, the designer of its website, and began operating American Wholesale Book Company, a book wholesaler and distributor. Six months later, the company opened Yogurt Mountain locations in its bookstores. In September 2010, the company launched
2nd & Charles, a trader of used media, with its first store in
Hoover, Alabama across from
Riverchase Galleria. In December 2015, the company was acquired by its chairman, Clyde B. Anderson, and his family, for $21 million, taking the company private and delisting its shares from the
Nasdaq. In November 2016, the company began to sell
self-published books. == See also ==