Bookstore employees are off to see the world

Employees Lisa Peterson (left) and Simone Kearney. (Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff)

Spring is typically peak season for the Globe Corner Bookstore in Harvard Square.

As the days get longer and the weather warmer, the aisles of the landmark seller of maps, guidebooks, and other aids for the traveler fill up with would-be adventurers planning for summer voyages to faraway lands. What they may not realize, however, is that the staff that so helpfully answers their questions is also busy gearing up for an annual migration of its own.

"We view our staff's travel as a huge benefit," explained Harriet Carrier, who together with her husband, Pat, owns and manages the bookstore. "How can we say that we want all this travel and then not let them go?"

Indeed, Carrier said, travel experience outside the United States and Europe is a key hiring criterion, as is an interest in books and maps, and a kind, friendly demeanor. The approach works well in the creation of a welcoming, tight-knit group whose hands-on knowledge of the world spans the globe. Yet, she acknowledged, it can present some challenges - especially when the entire staff decides to heed the call of distant horizons all at once.

True to form, one of the first sunny Sundays of the season found the bookstore packed with customers. The three booksellers on duty cheerfully dispensed advice on destinations from Paris to Tanzania. And, in between, they kept up a steady banter about travels of their own.

"How many continents did you hit last year, Simone?" queried Will Carrier, a college student, occasional part-time staff member, and the son of Harriet and Pat. "Was it four?"

"Four? No, I think it was five, actually," responded fellow bookseller, Simone Kearney. "I made it to every one except Australia and Antarctica."

"Slacker!" colleague Lisa Peterson called out from the other side of the store.

Both Kearney and Peterson are poised to take off again for foreign shores this summer, they said. And, as their bosses demand, both already have impressive rosters of travel behind them.

Kearney, who is Irish by birth, lived in Ireland and France before moving to the United States at age 7. Her mother is French, her father Irish, and her family has always traveled, she said. She made it a point to carry on that tradition herself on summer breaks from Boston College, and on long stints away from the bookstore, for which she has worked since graduating two years ago.

Uganda, in particular, has become a favorite destination. Kearney said that she has visited the country three times. She won't make it back this summer, but plans to drop in on Ireland, France, and maybe a couple of new countries before touching down in New York City to start graduate school in the fall.

For Peterson, it was a year as an exchange student in France that sparked a passion for travel that "just snowballed."

Four months of backpacking through Eastern Europe after college led to a year and a half spent teaching in Siberia and Romania. From there, Peterson journeyed to Turkey, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and about 20 other countries before finally falling in love with Croatia in 2004. She has been back five times, she said, and will spend July there.

"I travel, come back, save up money, then travel again," Peterson said with a laugh.

For her part, Carrier is not terribly worried about the imminent departure of two members of her tiny staff. Former booksellers tend to return from their travels just when you need them, she said. When staffing does get low, Carrier said, she or her husband or one of their sons fills in.

The Carriers began managing the Globe Corner Bookstore in the early-1980s, when Pat Carrier, by then a veteran bookseller, was recruited to oversee its opening in Downtown Crossing. A Harvard Square outpost, on Church Street, expanded on the downtown original in 1988, and a Back Bay store came next in 1993. And, in 1992, the Carriers went from managers to owners when they purchased both Boston stores, plus the Cambridge location, from the bookstore's second corporate owner. (The bookstore's first corporate owner, Affiliated Publications, was also the parent company of The Boston Globe).

The Downtown Crossing and Back Bay locations ultimately closed in 1997 and 2000, respectively, as a result of changing business climates. And, in 2006, the Harvard Square store made a journey of several blocks when it moved into the space it currently occupies at 90 Mount Auburn St., also in Harvard Square.

Though down to one location, the store keeps its owners busy. Compared with their well-traveled staff, the Carriers have not done as much roaming.

"We have to mind the business," said Harriet Carrier.