“How has Books Inc., with its 11 stores in the Bay Area and one in Disneyland, done it? By staying away mostly from malls, for one thing - unlike, say, Barnes & Noble Inc., which in recent weeks shut down superstores in Oakland’s Jack London Square and Richmond’s Hilltop Mall. And by, as noted by The Chronicle’s Carolyn Said, who reported on the opening of Books Inc.’s newest store, in Berkeley, last year, keeping to a smaller “footprint” - stores measuring more like 3,500 square feet than 35,000 (unlike, for example, the dearly departed Cody’s) - and locating in neighborhoods with plentiful foot traffic, like San Francisco’s Laurel Village. It’s also very careful about costs, a lesson learned from its near-death experience in the 1990s. “We’re careful about everything - about returns, payroll, payroll hours allotted to each store,” said Scott Tucker. As with other independents, much attention is also paid to the needs and wants of the surrounding community.“