Library Express: Turning the Page from Bookselling to Public Service 

Library Express: Turning the Page from Bookselling to Public Service 

In Jorge Carrión’s “Bookshops,” Carrión suggests there exists a strong difference between the bookshop and the library. The bookshop is characterized as a temporary yet progressive seller of books, one who deals with a light inventory and exists to move material to work out a limited existence. On the other hand, the library is much more permanent, an extension of “the powers-that-be” stuck “looking towards the past” (40). The library is a place where the hectic movement of ideas ceases and enters a preservation or sanctuary. Thanks to its ties to the government and its power, the library’s existence will always be ensured. This is perhaps to the detriment of bookstores, for Carrión suggests that the library is so powerful it even “erase[s]” the booksellers that nurtured its collection of books (37).   

Putting aside complaints about how Carrión takes the library for granted, there’s a fundamental flaw in his framework. If the library and the bookstore are such incompatible opposites, a combination of the two would prove that the bookstore and library are not so rigid in their constructs. Perhaps the bookstore does not have to be temporary or forgotten, constantly struggling for its own existence. Perhaps the library is not the place where knowledge comes to rest, stuck permanently looking at the past. Perhaps the two can coexist in a powerful, mutually beneficial service model that furthers their combined goals. 

It should be obvious what we’re hinting at: this paradoxical fusion already exists. We’re looking at Library Express, a one-stop bookshop/library hybrid in the Pennsylvania Rust Belt that functions as a small-scale commercial offshoot of the Scranton library network. 

Library Express challenges our fundamental understanding of both the library and the bookstore. How can a place attempting to sell books lend them away for free? How can the end-stop for knowledge traffic its wares for survival? How can a public service become a business? Yet, in its opposing existence, Library Express redefines both and offers a possible path towards a middle ground. 

A map of the area surrounding Library Express showing the various stores and historical sites in industrial Scranton.

Located in the center of downtown Scranton, Library Express’s dual purpose as a bookstore/library hybrid serves its working-class community well. In this neighborhood, about 35% of household incomes are less than $15K a year. It allows people of all demographics to find what they’re looking for, whether they’re looking to buy a bestseller or borrow a book that interests them. The variety of purchasing and lending options at Library Express similarly reflects this urge to cater to those from different economic backgrounds who might have less of a disposable income. There are options to have a book mailed to your home for those unable to travel and online options for in-store pickup. Having these different options allows people of modest economic backgrounds to use the bookstore in the way that feels most comfortable to them. 

Another unique thing about Library Express is its location in Scranton’s local mall, the Marketplace at Steamtown. A mall is usually the place for big chain stores like Barnes and Noble, but Library Express anchors itself there just as well as these larger stores.  

As a mall, the Marketplace reflects a sense of business and constant activity. However, in 2016, the Marketplace at Steamtown was rebranded as a community center with an emphasis on providing community resources and supporting the local economy, both of which directly align with Library Express’s goals. 

Library Express is found on the second floor of the mall, a place where many of the neighboring stores are locally owned small businesses that you can’t find anywhere else. For example, Library Express’s direct neighbor is Dress for Success, a second-hand clothing store that specializes in providing professional clothing in addition to career services for women hoping to enter or reenter the workforce. The mall also hosts several businesses that support and provide opportunities for creators in the community, like Phyl Your Bags, a co-op of local artisans, and What the Wick, which sells homemade candles (see the complete directory here). Both of these businesses are examples of the value Scranton places on support for local entrepreneurs in its working-class environment. On the first floor of the mall, there’s even a branch of the Luzerne County Community College, which adds an atmosphere of learning and accessibility to the mall. 

Laura J. Miller’s Reluctant Capitalists: Bookselling and the Culture of Consumption describes how the right kind of businesses are “nourished by their vital connections to a locality” and that they can “rise above the profit considerations to provide community service as well as customer service” (122). This is exactly what Library Express Bookstore does; it provides a much-needed public space where one might wander through the shelves of books, free from commercial obligation but confident that any money spent will directly benefit the Lackawanna County Library System. The way Library Express is designed makes you feel like an insider in the community, even if you’re only stopping in for a brief visit. 

In “The Science and Recent History of Bookstore Design,” Lyndsie Manusos meditates on “how a bookstore should ‘reflect the style and traditions of its surroundings’” when forming its culture, design, and function within its community. In this manner, Library Express shows the influence of traditional mall shopping culture and organization, presenting its wares in straight, orderly lines and small, contained U-shapes of similarly coded books: classics and classic-adjacents, adult and YA, nonfiction and special interest, etc. Library Express seems to mirror the days when bookstores operated on practical commercial business models, though the store also provides a crucial emphasis on community care and engagement through its creative features and dual nature as a bookstore and public library. 

Library Express exudes the same straightforward, entrepreneurial atmosphere that characterizes the rest of Scranton. You quickly recognize where to find the books you’re interested in, and while the layout encourages browsing and free movement, it’s perfectly suited to stopping in after work to pick up a new volume or borrow a book you’ve checked the availability of at the Lackawanna County Library System’s website lclshome.org. In this vein, the store “buys into” that consumer culture, meeting the needs of its working-class customers while still operating as a business. 

Library Express’s floor design and allocation of space also show its desire to put their customers’ needs first. In Reluctant Capitalists, Miller argues that “aside from any personal attachment to a locale, the [book]store proprietor knows that the fate of her entire business is tied to the future of that community” (226). In other words, booksellers are invested in their community’s well-being and must cater to their customers’ interests and values to stay afloat. Library Express does this by prioritizing certain genres or categories over others. For example, the cheapest books are the first things customers from the lower-income community of Downtown Scranton interact with, through book carts positioned outside the storefront. These carts convey a homey, casual atmosphere and a low-stakes first impression that invites people in because they know they can spend as much or as little as they want to once, they enter the space. 

In terms of relative section size, Library Express’s ‘mainstream’ definition of literature is also indicative of its working-class climate in its stocking of mostly popular books that appeal to a broad section of the population, with less of an emphasis on highbrow intellectualism (though they still do carry a large collection of loosely defined classics). 

A floorplan of Library Express showing the store’s commitment to community through its design. Color key: library spaces (purple), non-book items for sale (orange), books for sale (green).

The library collection of the hybrid bookstore is smaller than its neighbor the merch section, constituting less than a quarter of the store’s floor space. Despite this, it contains a huge assortment of large print texts and hundreds of DVDs that library card holders can borrow and enjoy for a quiet evening’s entertainment without having to spend hard-earned money. Given that approximately 33% of the population in downtown Scranton is 65 years or older (Claritas), this specialized selection of large print titles is a testament to Library Express’s dedication to serving all groups in the community, no matter their age group or socioeconomic background. It’s a place where anyone can go enjoy literature and library programming together, which lines up with the store’s emphasis on community engagement and activities. 

By prioritizing its customers, Library Express brings a lot of life to the Marketplace at Steamtown with its colorful arrays, creative art displays, and emphasis on community involvement. It’s committed to positively impacting anyone who enters the store through its library resources and bookstore design and has been doing so ever since its introduction in 2012. 

A timeline of important community events during Library Express’s history, from the origin of the store until the present.

The way that Library Express has formed a community is one that requires interaction from the consumers as well, though the initial formation of smaller communities is done by the store itself. For example, while there have been many diverse events hosted in the bookstore itself, the longest running have been the monthly book signings and readings. These began just 17 days after the store’s opening on January 11, 2012, with the signing of Nancy McDonald’s book If You Can Play Scranton. Since then, Library Express has hosted dozens of book signings, which often support the work of local writers. This tradition groups people of all ages in one place to give them a common interest and purpose with others. Library Express is perfect for such events because of how it serves the needs of an economically and generationally diverse community, especially since the initial goal of all libraries is to bring people together and strengthen bonds between different groups.  

Other events are targeted towards more specific audiences, however. For example, community events include Teen Tuesdays, Seasoned Citizen Movie Matinees, children’s craft times, and specialized interest groups that meet in the back of the store. In Place, a Short Introduction by Tim Cresswell, places are defined both as “spaces which people have made meaningful” and “spaces people are attached to” (7), which soundly resonates with the groups in Library Express. Most of the recurring events have lasted for years, like the Open Mic Nights (since 2017) and the Seasoned Citizen Movie Matinees (since 2018). The smaller groups at these events form a community, and each group creates their own individual meaning in Library Express’s event space based on the types of programming targeted for them. Being with a group of like-minded people with similar interests creates relationships, both between the people at such events and the places they’re hosted in.  

As a library/bookstore hybrid, it’s clear that the patrons and proprietors of the store truly care for books and their importance in the world. In his article, “Bookstores, Communist and Capitalist,” Jack Perry laments that bookstores haven’t been as mindful of this feeling in recent years: “No one in these places seems to love books, or even like them, except as money makers” (109). While this quote might apply to some other bookstores, it doesn’t apply to Library Express. The bookstore/library hybrid’s position as a nonprofit gives it a unique ability to counteract those tones and promote good literature without the pall of making a profit hanging over their business model. Library Express has adapted many times over the years to create deeper connections with people in the area and bridge the gap between bookselling and public service.  

The function of Library Express is to serve the community, which they have done by creating meaning and community in a single place for the last decade. By combining the ethos of business with a legitimate need and drive to serve the community, Library Express has proven that it can survive the turbulence that shutters many other small businesses, and more impressively, does so as a hybrid bookstore in the working-class Rust Belt. It’s proof that Carrión might be wrong—the Library and the Bookstore do not have to be separate. When their goals of nurturing their community align, they can quite literally work as one to reap great success.  

Thus, Library Express exists as a collection of opposites; the store emulates traditional consumer culture as more of a transactional retailer than an intellectual gatekeeper, but its design and curation still showcases its community-centric organization through the genres it prioritizes and its creative features. These features are perfectly aligned with creating a comfortable, welcoming atmosphere for Scranton’s working-class community, which has contributed significantly to the formation of relationships and community in Scranton. 

The authors of this post pictured in front of Library Express’s 2023 Halloween display: (left to right) Brooke Nelson, Amelia Alexander, Janina Reynolds, and Gavin Knouse.

Citations

Texts

Carrión, Jorge. Bookshops: A Reader’s History. Translated by Peter Bush, Biblioasis, 2017, pp. 37-40. 

Cresswell, Tim. Place: A Short Introduction. Blackwell, 2011.    

“Library Express Calendar.” Lackawanna County Library System, lclshome.org/library-express-calendar/. Accessed 8 Oct. 2023. 

Manusos, Lyndsie. “The Science and Recent History of Bookstore Design.” BOOK RIOT, 22 Feb. 2022, bookriot.com/the-science-and-recent-history-of-bookstore-design/. Accessed 11 Dec. 2023. 

Miller, Laura J. Reluctant Capitalists: Bookselling and the Culture of Consumption. University of Chicago Press, 2007. pp. 122-226.

Perry, Jack. “Bibliophilia: Bookstores, Communist and Capitalist.” The American Scholar, vol. 55, no. 1, 1986, pp. 107–11. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41211294. Accessed 11 Dec. 2023. 

Images

All photos of Library Express taken by Amelia Alexander, Brooke Nelson, and Janina Reynolds on October 28, 2023 at Library Express Bookstore, Scranton, PA. 

“Calendar of Events October 2023” from https://lclshome.org/b/library-express/. Accessed October 2023.

Graphics and Statistics

Floorplan drawn by Amelia Alexander in October 2023; floorplan annotations added using https://www.thinglink.com/. Accessed 10 Dec. 2023. 

Google Map created by Janina Reynolds using https://mymaps.google.com/. Accessed 13 Dec. 2023. 

Households by Income. Claritas, https://claritas360.claritas.com/mybestsegments/#zipLookup. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023. 

Population by Age. Claritas, https://claritas360.claritas.com/mybestsegments/#zipLookup. Accessed 11 Dec. 2023. 

Scranton, PA. Data USA. (n.d.). https://datausa.io/profile/geo/scranton-pa#demographics Accessed 1 Dec. 2023. 

Timeline created by Brooke Nelson using Free Online Timeline Maker, https://time.graphics/. Accessed 29 Nov. 2023. 

Harriett’s Bookshop: Literature is a Protest

Harriett’s Bookshop: Literature as a Protest 

Harriett’s Bookshop: Literature as a Protest 

Harriett’s Bookshop Entrance w/Jeannine Cook in front

The Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia is full of contrast – numerous historic placards, endless rows of ancient brick townhouses, overpriced vegan grocery stores, and quaint little bookshops. One bookshop in particular stands out, nestled at 258 E. Girard Avenue. From the violin music that trickles out the store’s propped doors to the smell of incense and warm oranges wafting on the breeze — it’s hard to miss Harriett’s Bookshop.   

Harriett’s Bookshop is not a simple store. Harriett’s is a carefully curated journey through Black women’s literature, culture, and art from the past, present, and future.   

Upon walking inside, one can see the shop’s namesake — Harriet Tubman — sitting proudly behind the desk counter as if she owns the place herself. Quotes from famous Black women and men — Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Nikole Hannah-Jones — are painted and two-dimensionally framed on the walls, as if to say, “Here, you will take these words as the art that they are.” It is important to keep in mind the social and cultural weight of centering Black voices. The collection of books within Harriett’s “seems to be seeing through them into their distant past as though inspired (Buzbee, 61),” by the compelling history of the marginalization of Black women, drawing these histories out of the objects themselves by their careful placements and orderings. Many authors are local writers of color and local women, for whom of which Harriett’s is dedicated to the preservation of their identities in the literary sphere.  

Jeannine Cook, owner and curator of Harriett’s, has been working to preserve Black women’s voices in the literary canon since the beginning — even before the store opened its doors in February 2020. 

From Educator to Entrepreneur

As a consultant and teacher, Cook has brought musicians, artists, and writers to classrooms, developing anti-racism curriculums. Her commitment to the Black community, education, activism, and art is mirrored within her passion for Harriett’s — not unlike the passionate Black booksellers of the mid-20th century. Most of these early entrepreneurs, according to Joshua Clark Davis in Liberation Through Literacy, “had extensive backgrounds in leftist and black nationalist politics or were teachers or writers or bibliophiles (38).” Cook is no different.  

Jeannine w/her sister in founding foremothers T-shirts (2021)

Although Harriett’s was not Cook’s debut in the bookselling sphere, it is certainly her most notable. Upon leasing the store, she aimed for it to create dialogue about community and global issues, as well as housing the celebration of women artists, activists, and writers. She describes the “foundational texts” of the store as being those of Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, Zora Neale Hurston, and Octavia Butler. In fact, Harriett’s first T-shirts were just a simple list of those authors’ first names.   

Harriett’s grand opening was akin to an art gallery, with iconic Black-women-authored books displayed in the storefront, featuring Laureate Trapeta B. Mayson, a renowned Philadelphia poet. Afterwards, people considered the store to be a hangout spot, safe space, and sanctuary in a town often seen as violently exclusive.  

Black Bookstore, White Town

Six weeks after opening, COVID-19 shut down the U.S. economy. Cook was devastated as the brick-and-mortar store had to close. Still, Harriett’s stayed alive online and on the streets. With the help of “Dr. Gina” South, an ER doctor at Pennsylvania Hospital — and Cook’s dedication to activism — Harriet’s launched the “Essentials for Essentials” initiative in the spring of 2020. Community members could buy books for and send thank-you note “prescriptions” to essential workers. Hundreds of books were hand-delivered to local hospitals, and the initial inventory sold out within a single hour. Cook also set up a grab-and-go shop on the sidewalk, relying on the honor’s system to gain revenue. In an interview with Travel + Leisure, Cook stated, “I broke a lot of furniture. I got rained on. But people need books more than ever at that point (Poitevien, 2022).”  

Despite the town’s hipster rise, Fishtown isn’t exactly ideal for a bookshop like Harriett’s. Despite Philadelphia being a cultural melting pot, Fishtown itself has minimal diversity with a 78.1% white population as of 2020. Black or African Americans only make up 5.9% of Fishtown’s 23,000 residents. With Fishtown covering only 1.57 square miles of space (including water area), the town is effectively bursting at the seams (US Zip Codes, 2020). 

Additionally, due to low-income and high population density in the area, crime statistics are extremely high, which Harriett’s has been made more than aware of. But the intention of founding the bookstore in such conditions has been a stand towards fighting back.   

Following the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020, paid interns at Harriett’s — referred to as “youth conductors” — assembled signs that said, ”I CAN’T BREATHE.” These were the last words of Eric Garner, a Black man killed by police. Then, after an anonymous donation of books, Cook and fellow staff from Harriett’s took to the streets. They showed up to protests, wielding the power of literature and giving away books — such as The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Brown — for free to protestors and those passing by the store. Harriett’s also received a swell of orders for anti-racist works, including How to Be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi. On June 6th, 2020, a video of Cook giving away books went viral on their Instagram, and she responded with a post a few days later thanking the 30,000 new followers they had gained.  

In the spring of 2020, starting in Minneapolis, Cook travelled to several big BLM protests, donating more than 1,200 inspirational and instructive books to organizers and activists. Cook even did this in front of Philadelphia’s City Hall, where she was nearly shot by a police sniper. The bookstore itself has suffered violence, too: protests following the killing of Walter Wallace Jr., a 27-year-old Black man, in West Philadelphia made Harriett’s a target. Neighboring stores’ windows were shattered. Harriett’s received death threats and rape threats via email. People spewed racist and derogatory words. White men outside the shop, who proclaimed themselves “protectors” of police, wielded baseball bats and tore apart BLM banners.  

Knowing full well the risks of opening a black-owned bookshop in an area like Fishtown, Cook claims that she felt they opened the bookshop here for a reason. Just as Toni Morrison says on the value of myths, songs, and stories, “I regard my responsibilities as a Black writer as someone who must bear witness, someone who must record. But I want to make sure that a little piece of the world I knew, a little piece that I knew, doesn’t get forgotten (Hautzinger, 2019).” Cook exemplifies this well, not only in her own literature, but in her social media presence. Cook has several posts showcasing all she’s achieved as an activist, as a bookseller, and as an independent black female business owner.  

BLM Protest: Taking a Stand (Harriett’s Bookshop Instagram, 2020)

Through everything, Cook exclaims that books have been a way to protest racism and fight for Black activism. Despite the neighborhood being majority-white, some residents have been “hella supportive.” “When I went over to Minneapolis for the day to pay respects to George Floyd, there was a woman standing out in front of the bookshop just so that nobody would mess with it (Bienasz, 2020),” she said in an interview with Inc.com.  

Despite the violence and oppression against minorities, Cook hasn’t been discouraged by Fishtown’s flaws. In places like Harriett’s, the owners “strive for a design mixing leisure with excitement, casual warmth with soft elegance, high-brow culture with worn-shoe comfort, and serious study with simple fun (Miller, 92).” 

A Sanctuary of Arts and Culture

In addition to being a haven, the bookshop has become a vibrant cultural hub within the Fishtown neighborhood. The space transcends the traditional confines of a bookstore, transforming itself into a dynamic stage for a diverse array of events, performances, and art exhibitions. Their commitment to fostering community engagement is thus evident through a rich tapestry of cultural activities. 

By seamlessly weaving together the realms of literature and performance arts, Harriett’s offers a platform for locals to showcase their talents. The bookstore’s stage has witnessed a myriad of performances, from poetry readings to live music, creating an intimate and immersive experience for attendees. Musicians fill the air with melodies, creating a harmonious backdrop that complements the literary ambiance. The rhythmic cadence of spoken word performances, the soulful tunes of jazz, and the vibrant energy of live bands all contribute to the unique atmosphere that Harriett’s cultivates. Beyond this, the reading garden in the back of the store provides space for patrons and neighbors to enjoy literature, encouraging reading above retail and sales. This integration of literature and performance art not only enhances the cultural richness of the space but also reinforces the interconnectedness of various artistic expressions.​ 

Photos showcasing events at Harriett’s like live music, book signings, candlelight readings, and more! (Harriett’s Bookshop Instagram)

The design of the space itself is critical for the artistic ambiance as well. The openness of the floorplan, and the shop’s constant physical rotations, keep the shop new and fresh for readings, musical events, book signings, book club meetings, dances, and even mimosa nights. The shelving and organization are changed monthly, so one can experience the store anew. Several light, white cubes and tables change in location, number, and size based on which book is currently “on exhibit.” Cook creates these exhibits in tandem with the authors, an excellent example being their recent promotion of The1619 Project, a long-form journalistic book written by Nikole Hannah-Jones. Hannah-Jones visited the shop many times during the promotion of her book, ultimately forming a relationship with Cook; a “sisterhood.”  

Harriett’s challenges and scorns the idea that “the ‘beauty’ of much Non-Western ‘art’ is a recent discovery (Clifford, 227),” and calls marginalized works of past and present into the foreground of the definitions of literature and culture. When books like The1619 Project are featured, they consume the store, showing up repeatedly or taking up entire cubicle walls as if to chant the title of the book again and again. This contrasts to the classic “books in piles on the floor” aesthetic that one might expect from an indie bookstore, replacing it with deep reverence, a sort of holy space for books to be appreciated, worshipped, and enacted. Harriett’s creates here “the most profound enchantment for the collector…the locking of individual items within a magic circle in which they are fixed (Buzbee, 60),” as the books are held up as pieces of a mosaic tiled art piece, each book coming together to tell a remarkable story.​ 

Harriett’s even implements Cook’s background as an educator, extending the store’s community towards the youth. The children’s section of Harriett’s is given a large, roomy area with low chairs and a schoolhouse-themed painting on the walls. Unlike the other rotating shelves, this area is consistent, always featuring children’s books about black women and children. Where the main body of the store feels like a gallery, this space feels warm, small, more cluttered, like a children’s play space. Mantras are repeated on the walls and titles of the books: “Black is beautiful,” “the world is yours,” “Black girl magic.” This area is made to welcome children, to provide a place full of literature designed for them. In the picture book that Cook published, “Harriett’s Bookshop”, children are reminded of all these things and more, depicting Harriett’s as a place full of literature designed for them.  

Near the reading garden and the children’s section, there is a door leading to the basement of the store — what Cook calls The Underground.  

Harriett’s as a Reparative Space 

In the Underground, the lights are dim, and patrons are encouraged to use candles to traverse the bookshelves, paying homage to those Black readers of the past who had to hide in order to read. And yet, there is contrast since the basement feels like a neon night club, something Harriett’s takes advantage of with their fun and funky Book “Clubs” hosted in the basement’s moody neon lighting. Music and lightly boozy refreshments enliven the scene. At the bottom of the stairs is a shrine dedicated to Tubman, affirmations in neon light, candles lit and unlit.  

Along the walls are highly specified, unlabeled categories of gently used books. Books shelved in the Underground are grouped in overly specified sections such as: Black magical realism, memoirs about being Black and Queer, books about the Underground Railroad, Star Trek, slice-of-life fiction set post-Civil War, the Harlem Renaissance, women in politics, and more. The refusal to level these niches, using the underground railroad in the name of the space, and the shrines dedicated to fallen Black brethren all pay homage to Black culture. The Underground offers itself to patrons with a wink and a nod, an “I know, you know” mentality that Harriett’s seems to embrace through Cook’s intense and stylized curation.  

Picture of Harriett’s “Underground”, dark and neon lit (Harriett’s Bookshop Instagram, 2023)

Overall, it is easy to see why Cook’s vision for the bookstore was in part to honor the courageous Harriet Tubman, a historical figure Cook believes doesn’t get enough recognition. In the nineteenth century, Tubman escaped from slavery in the American South to become an abolitionist. Over the course of the next decade, she led about 70 enslaved people to freedom through the Underground Railroad. She has gone down in history as a Black Woman known for her persistence, courage, and discipline.  

In July 2021, Cook started a virtual congressional petition to make Harriett Tubman Day (March 10th, the anniversary of Tubman’s death) a federal holiday. Thanks to Cook’s petitioning efforts, it is now an official state holiday in Pennsylvania. In 2022, the Harriett Tubman Day Act went up for consideration by the U.S. Congress, although no vote was scheduled.  

In February 2022, Harriett’s monthly theme was “reparations,” echoing the bookshop’s core themes of Black discussion and activism. The staff launched the Sisterhood Sit-In Trolley Tour, a two-hour tour through Philadelphia’s Black-women-owned businesses. And yet, perhaps the most notable decision on Cook’s part was to take a vow of silence every day of that month from sunup to sundown. It was an effort to oppose the commercialization of Black History Month: to take a step back, to listen, and to acknowledge the atrocities that Black people have faced, then and now.   

It holds true that the independent bookstore “has the power to produce and preserve idealized visions of local experience—to be a living archive and to act as a hub in social, literary, and cultural networks; to be, in short, a physical landmark of and for local community (Highland, 243).” Harriett’s is a master of this “local experience.” The bookshop and its founder persist in the face of adversity, embodying the resilience inherent in the stories they champion. It all becomes a crucial part of the narrative woven into the cultural fabric of Fishtown—a narrative that emphasizes the importance of challenging norms, fostering inclusivity, and creating spaces that resist erasure.  

Harriett’s Bookshop is a space to give honor, artistic worth, and deep reverence to the works of women of color. Whether it be an art gallery, a smoky club, or a cozy schoolroom, the store embodies the environments that Black women are marginalized in and uplifts them, centers them. Cook has made this honoring of Black art and Black lives her life’s work, and her bookshop carries on its back the intense history of a movement towards Black literature’s value and respect.  

Harriett’s demonstrates the idea that “inheritance is the soundest way of acquiring a collection (Benjamin 66),” as it attempts to collect the long and star-studded history of the cultures it honors. Cook’s highly developed curation displays that “the most distinguished trait of a collection will always be its transmissibility (Benjamin, 6),” its ability to continue with a momentum that transcends the simple structure of the bookshop it inhabits. 

Authors of this Article

Grey Weatherford-Brown

Bedelya McCann

Abigail Pursh

Kelly Hogan

Julia Cerrato

Sources

Texts

Benjamin, Walter. Illuminations : Essays and Reflections. Boston ; New York, Mariner Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019.

Buzbee, Lewis. The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop. ReadHowYouWant.com, 19 Oct. 2010.

Clifford, James. The Predicament of Culture : Twentieth-Century Ethnography, Literature, and Art. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1988.

Davis, Joshua C. “Liberation Through Literacy: African American Bookstores, Black Power, and the Mainstreaming of Black Books.” From Head Shops to Whole Foods: The Rise of Activist Entrepreneurs, Edited by Devin Fergus, Lewis Hyman, Bethany Moreton, and Julia Ott. Columbia University Press, pp. 35-82, https://susqu.instructure.com/courses/4398/files/457836/download?download_frd=1.

Highland, Kristen D. “The Houses of Appleton and Book Cultures in Antebellum New York City.” In the Bookstore, vol. 19, John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, 2016, pp. 214–255, https://muse.jhu.edu/article/645859. Accessed 2023.

Miller, Laura J. Reluctant Capitalists Bookselling and the Culture of Consumption. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2014.

Pyne, Lydia. Bookshelf. Bloomsbury Academic, 2019.

Websites

“Black History Milestones: Timeline.” History.com, A&E Television Networks LLC, 11 May 2023, https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-milestones.

“Black Lives Matter: a timeline of the movement.” Cosmopolitan, Hearst UK, 21 April 2021, https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/reports/a32728194/black-lives-matter-timeline-movement/.

Beck, Tom. “Historians, Community Advocates Fret over the Future of Former Penn Home Building in Fishtown.” Star News, 14 Oct. 2020, starnewsphilly.com/2020/10/13/historians-community-advocates-fret-over-the-future-of-former-penn-home-building-in-fishtown/.

Bienasz, Gabrielle. “She Founded a Black Bookstore in a White Neighborhood. Then … – Inc.Com.” Inc., 9 June 2020, www.inc.com/gabrielle-bienasz-changing-the-world-through-books.html.

Butler, Michael. “Harriett’s Bookshop Owner Jeannine Cook Uses Resilience to Write Her Own Story.” Technical.Ly, Technically Media, 16 Aug. 2023, technical.ly/diversity-equity-inclusion/harriets-bookshop-jeannine-cook/.

Chow, Andrew R., and Annabel Gutterman. “How Coronavirus Is Affecting Independent Bookstores.” Time, Time, 22 Apr. 2020, time.com/5822767/coronavirus-bookstores-amazon/. 

Cook, Jeannine. “A Home for Harriett’s Bookshop.” GoFundMe, 2023, https://www.gofundme.com/f/harriettsbookshop. 

Cook, Jeannine. “We need a federal holiday to honor Harriett Tubman.” The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, 20 May 2022, https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/hariet-tubman-day-congress-federal-holiday-20220520.html.

Gray, Kylie. “Drexel MFA Student Opens Harriett’s Bookshop in Fishtown.” College of Arts and Sciences, 3 Feb. 2020, drexel.edu/coas/news-events/news/2020/February/drexel-mfa-student-opens-harrietts-bookshop-in-fishtown/. 

Harriett’s Bookshop, bookshop.org/shop/harriettsbookshop. Accessed 19 Sept. 2023.

“Harriett’s Bookshop Seeking Permanent Home in Fishtown.” PhillyVoice, 3 May 2021, www.phillyvoice.com/harriets-bookshop-fishtown-philadelphia-gofundme-jeannine-cook/.

“Jeannine Cook of Harriet’s Bookshop on Owning Our Own Spaces.” YouTube, YouTube, 29 Dec. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=arWwie7TLz8&t=142s.

“Prizm® Premier.” Claritas, claritas360.claritas.com/mybestsegments/#zipLookup. Accessed 8 Oct. 2023.

“Harriet Tubman.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Sept. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Harriet-Tubman.

McCutcheon, Lauren. “Generation Change Philly: The Literary Activist.” The Philadelphia Citizen, 19 May 2022, https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/jeannine-cook-philly/.

Moody, Eric. “This Philly bookstore owner found a different way to protest.” 6abc, ABC, Inc., 10 June 2020, https://6abc.com/jeannine-a-cooks-bookshop-owner-donate-s-free-books-during-protest/6240981/.

“Parents of Walter Wallace Jr. demand justice and police reform in Philadelphia.” 6abc, ABC, Inc., 7 May 2021, https://6abc.com/walter-wallace-jr-shooting-philadelphia-police-police-involved-west-philly-protest/10594187/.

Poitevien, Jessica. “This Philadelphia Bookstore Honors Harriet Tubman’s Legacy With Literature, Art, and Activism.” Travel + Leisure, Fact checked by Jillian Dara, Travel + Leisure Co., 20 Oct. 2022, https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/harrietts-bookshop-philadelphia.

Rebolini, Arianna. “Harriett’s Bookshop Owner Jeannine Cook Says Connection Is at the Root of Everything.” Oprah Daily, Oprah Daily LLC, 28 Feb. 2022, https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/books/a39186848/jeannine-cook-harrietts-bookshop/.

Samuel, Ruth E. “Bookstore named after Harriet Tubman celebrates women authors, artists and activists.” Today, NBC Universal, 12 April 2021, https://www.today.com/money/philadelphia-s-harriett-s-bookshop-celebrates-women-color-authors-t214023.

“Speculation Time: A Forever Home for Harriett’s Bookshop.” OCF Realty, 19 June 2023, www.ocfrealty.com/naked-philly/fishtown/speculation-time-a-forever-home-for-harrietts-bookshop/.

“Spotlight on Harriett’s Bookshop: Penguin Random House.” PenguinRandomhouse.Com, Penguin Random House, www.penguinrandomhouse.com/articles/harrietts-bookstore/. Accessed 1 Nov. 2023.

“We Are the American Heartbreak: Langston Hughes on Race in a Rare Recording.” The Marginalian, 23 Sept. 2016, www.themarginalian.org/2016/09/23/american-heartbreak-langston-hughes-reads/.

Wink, Christopher. “Visit Two-Dozen Indie Bookshops during the Inaugural Philly Bookstore Crawl.” Technical.Ly, Technically Media, 16 Aug. 2023, technical.ly/civic-news/philly-bookstore-crawl/.

US Zip Codes. “ZIP Code 19125 Map, Demographics, More for Philadelphia, PA.” United States Zip Codes, 2020, www.unitedstateszipcodes.org/19125/.

Media

Harriett’s bookshop Instagram. “Sisterhood Sit-In Protest.” Instagram, 13 Oct. 2020, www.instagram.com/p/CGSaPazDegr/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA.

Harriett’s Bookshop on Instagram. “A Silent Candlelight Tour in the Underground.” Instagram, 30 Dec. 2021, www.instagram.com/p/CYIdi0ODkMy/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link.

Harriett’s bookshop on Instagram. “Black Lives Matter Protest: Taking a Stand.” Instagram, 27 May 2020, www.instagram.com/p/CAsUJj4jz63/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA.

Harriett’s bookshop on Instagram. “Harriet Tubman Inspired Musical Rendition and Painting.” Instagram, 18 Oct. 2020, www.instagram.com/p/CGfqe6rDDgA/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link.

Harriett’s Bookshop on Instagram. “Jeannine Cook and Her Sister Wearing Founding Foremothers T-Shirts.” Instagram, 1 July 2021, www.instagram.com/p/CQyvIBHD3qZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA.

Harriett’s Bookshop on Instagram. “Nikkolas Smith Book Signing for Born on the Water.” Instagram, 18 Nov. 2021, www.instagram.com/p/CWbMPI4pO0B/.

Harriett’s bookshop on Instagram. “Unity Community Center Dancing.” Instagram, 5 Jan. 2022, www.instagram.com/p/CYWQ_7IjV21/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA.

Harriett’s bookshop on Instagram. “‘We Have to Believe in Things That Seem Impossible.’ behind the Scenes Footage (and Audio) from Our Visit with @nikolehannahjones for The 1619 Project Exhibition.” Instagram, 24 May 2022, www.instagram.com/p/Cd8JCxpDHiy/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA.

Harriett’s Bookshop [@harrietts_bookshop]. Jeannine Cook in front of Harriett’s Storefront. Instagram, 2 Feb. 2023, https://www.instagram.com/p/B8EfHC7jJmj/.

Hautzinger, Daniel. “From the Archive: Toni Morrison.” WTTW Chicago, 18 Feb. 2019, interactive.wttw.com/playlist/2018/03/13/archive-toni-morrison.

Weatherford-Brown, Grey. Photograph of Harriett’s Interior. 18 Nov. 2023.

Other

McCann, Bedelya. “Harriett’s Bookshop Floor Plan.” ThingLink, Nov. 2023, www.thinglink.com/card/1776303159413572452.

Pursh, Abigail. “Harriett’s and Relevant World Events Timeline.” Time Graphics, 2023, time.graphics/.

Pursh, Abigail. “Harriett’s Bookshop Map.” Google Maps, Google, 24 Oct. 2023, www.google.com/maps.

Black, Feminist, & Bookish: How a Brooklyn Bookshop Brews an Intersectional Community

Black, Feminist, & Bookish: How a Brooklyn Bookshop Brews an Intersectional Community

By: Janelle Cass, Megan DeAngelo, Jennifer Martin, Ellie Pasquale, and Annie Villamarin

Café Con Libros in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, catches the interest of the busy New York City public through the scent of rich coffee and pastries, as well as a colorful window display. Owner Kalima DeSuze curates a collection of literature that uplifts and empowers women’s voices from intersectional identities. As an Afro-Latinx woman, she is dedicated to sharing stories that reflect the intersectionality of the modern feminist movement. 

The interior of Cafe Con Libros. Image from @cafeconlibros_bk

The emphasis on celebration and love is strong behind the doors of this intimate bookstore, where book clubs are held for titles written by or for feminists and women of color.

Its warm and cozy atmosphere is inviting and contagious, welcoming intersectionality and community into its quaint but open space. The creation of this bookshop has a story that may not be written in novel form, but it is shown through its location’s past, its efforts in the present to make feminist books more accessible, and all the possibilities it inspires for the future book-loving community.  

Grounds for Resistance: The History of Crown Heights

Café Con Libros of Crown Heights, Brooklyn was founded in 2017 by social activist, new mother, teacher, and Afro-Latinx woman, Kalima Desuze. The location of Café con Libros was not chosen by chance but through DeSuze’s deep history with the area. She had been a resident of the area for most of her life, living with her Panamanian immigrant parents (Giwa). The actual building of Café con Libros was owned by a relative, Linda DeSuze, dating back to 1985, so it seemed only right to start this passion project in a community she had grown up in, where she knew what kind of bookstore it needed (NYC Dept.).

The population of Afro-Caribbean and Jewish families began long before DeSuze’s parents arrived, even before they were born. The settlement of the region began in the 1830s with two small villages founded by African Americans, called Weeksville and Carrville, where a large free Black population grew (Schaefer 350). When the villages were destroyed during the urbanization of the area in the late 1910s, Crown Heights became home to “an upwardly mobile, rapidly assimilating elite of Eastern European Jews and other White European immigrants” (Schaefer 350). Later, the population boomed in the 1940s and 1950s when a rush of Jewish and Afro-Caribbean immigrants joined the community, attracted to the country’s thriving wartime economy (Schaefer 350). 

Crown Heights begins as a place for freed Black people in the United States, yet it turns into an intersectional neighborhood as time wears on, leading to some inevitable conflicts. On August 19, 1991, two African American cousins, Gavin and Angela Cato, were riding their bikes at the intersection of Utica Avenue and President Street—less than two miles away from where Café con Libros currently stands—when Orthodox Jewish Driver, Yosefl Lifsch, swerved onto the sidewalk. Gavin was killed and Angela survived, though she was severely injured. Rumors were spread that Lifsch was drunk driving, but they were later debunked, and the swerve was believed to have been deliberate. 

A few hours later, a group of Black youths stabbed Yankel Rosenbaum, a visiting Orthodox Jew, and the stabbing was seen as a retaliation to the recent accident. Though he initially survived the stabbing, Rosenbaum died from bleeding in an undetected wound. Riots lasted anywhere from three to five days according to different sources, and homes, businesses, and vehicles were destroyed. Even before the riots, there was harboring resentment between the Black and Jewish communities in Crown Heights, because the Black residents believed that the Jewish residents had received special protection from law enforcement due to a police redistricting decision in 1976.  

David Dinkins, Mayor of New York, intervenes in an argument between a Jewish man and a Black man. Photo taken by Time.

These riots were the result of two communities, both victims of oppression, wanting justice for their friends and family. Yet this shows the difficulties that can arise when intersectionality is not embraced but resisted. When Kalima DeSuze decided to open Café con Libros, it’s no mystery why she aimed to empower feminist and Afro-Latina voices. DeSuze is bringing to light intersectional identities that felt unseen and unheard in literature and Crown Heights. Daphne Spain expresses the importance of diverse female stories to the feminist movement in the 1970s, stating, “Feminist bookstores sustained and enriched the women’s movement when they disseminated literature by women of differing cultures, ethnicities, races, and sexual preferences” (89). This principle is still effective in the modern day through DeSuze’s bookshop. By creating a community dedicated to uplifting the writing and experiences of women of color, she is not only enriching the feminist movement but also enriching the neighborhood by embracing intersectional identities. She is actively creating a community for people like her, who felt so isolated in a neighborhood where identities are divided cleanly from one another by a history of violence and tension. 

Timeline made by Megan DeAngelo using Time Graphics.

Order Up! How the Shop Serves Its Community Today

Café Con Libros is an intersectional feminist bookshop and café catered to, made for, and beloved by its Brooklyn neighborhood. There’s a homey and amicable sense of belonging emanating from its walls. As the Edinburgh academic Tim Cresswell describes in his book Place: A Short Introduction, “They [places] are all spaces which people have made meaningful. They are all spaces people are attached to in one way or another.” The patrons and employees of Café con Libros have certainly made the bookshop a meaningful place.

“Café Con Libros and its patrons have become one of my most cherished safe spaces. For a while now, I have been reckoning with shifts in friendships and craving community that shares my values. Café Con Libros and the WoC book club have satisfied that craving. Having the opportunity to engage in nuanced discussions about rich literature with other bookish folx has reminded me of the beauty and necessity of community.” -Melika Butcher 

The spaces around the bookshop also contribute greatly to the community aspect of Café con Libros. Many are educational, including the Brooklyn Museum and the Children’s Brooklyn Museum, as well as several schools, encouraging children to visit the shop with their friends or guardians on their daily route. DeSuze takes care to recognize this by curating a special collection of children’s books for “budding feminists”. 

Map created by Megan DeAngelo using Google My Maps. Red marks places of worship, green marks schools, purple marks the Children’s Museum, and blue marks Cafe Con Libros.

Of course, this isn’t to say that the Crown Heights area is the most ideal place. When you take a closer look at the community surrounding Café con Libros, it is easy to see the turmoil within it. The soft turquoise storefront stands on the frontlines of an uphill battle to unify an increasingly gentrified community. 

Kalima DeSuze grew up a six-minute walk away from the shop, a place she says was once-crowded with old community convenience stores and African hair-braiding spots that have all since disappeared. Between 2000 and 2015, the Crown Heights area saw a 23% decrease in Black residents and a 205% increase in White residents (“Observer”). The median rent shot up from $870 to $1230, according to a study conducted by NYU’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy. Gone is the mostly Black and low-income neighborhood she knew as a girl. In its place, a tense population divided by race and class now bustles around one another, unsure of how to make peace with and live together (“Fernández”). 

Bookshops are a way for people to connect despite drastic changes in their community. Brooklyn is home to over 25 different bookshops, but Café con Libros makes a bold stand from the rest. All thanks to Kalima DeSuze’s extraordinary community work.

Along with running the bookshop, DeSuze is a social worker, a professor of social work, and an anti-racist community organizer, which she says greatly impacts every decision she makes about the shop. She carefully picks every aspect of the bookshop to cater to the feeling of acceptance and freedom within this community. The titles, events, and authors are handpicked to cater to this community. Even the name of the bookshop is an homage to DeSuze’s Afro-Latina roots, a nod to café con leche.   

Not only is DeSuze creating a space for this community, but she is also reclaiming the place of the café. DeSuze explains in an interview with Black-Owned Brooklyn that, “A café is the number one marker of gentrification in most communities of color, and I’ve had to wrestle with that and how people view me. Sometimes people will walk right past because they don’t believe the space is for them, and this is so incredibly painful.” 

In her book Reluctant Capitalists: Bookselling and the Culture of Competition, Laura J. Miller writes about what exactly community is and how it works within a grander scheme of things, “Community implies social bonds based on affective ties and mutual support […]” (119). Above all else, Café con Libros is a bookshop for the Black, intersectional feminist community, providing support and connection.

Photo of outside Cafe Con Libros taken by Janelle Cass.

Café con Libros is perhaps the most dedicated business to fostering and engaging with the community that most people have ever seen. Between their locally sourced pastries, their multiple book clubs, and their events that uplift other small businesses in Brooklyn, womxn authors, and cultural events, Café con Libros is determined to make themselves a meaningful place to anyone who walks through their doors. 

An Open Space and An Open Mind: Small Space for a Big Community

Tucked behind a cozy curtain of sage, forest, seafoam, and bottle-green ivy hangs a stark black and white awning. “BLACK, FEMINIST, & BOOKISH” it reads — but only on weeks that follow a good hedge trimming. That’s okay, though. The locals that frequent the shop already know what it says. A pride flag, as well as the flag of Panama — where the owner Kalima DeSuze hails from — proudly hang side by side in the window.

The layout of the shop feels like an attempt at bridging a connection between the turbulent past and the relentlessly hopeful present of the surrounding neighborhood. The open layout acts as a metaphor for openness, serving as a peace offering and a neutral ground for a once-divided community to come together and share stories. 

Readers will quickly take notice of DeSuze’s effort to disprove the misconception that feminism is only for “white folk” (Fernández). The left-hand window features books like The Crunk Feminist Collection and The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae. Beside them stand My Broken Language: A Memoir by Quiara Alegría Hudes and Las Madres by Esmeralda Santiago.

The wooden shelves in the right window display an extensive collection of diverse children’s books. There are titles such as La Guitarrista by Lucky Diaz, illustrated by Micah Player, and Los coquíes aún cantan by Karina Nichole González, illustrated by Krystal Quiles.

Books written in Spanish as well as English reiterate this mission of intersectionality and reflect the rich ethnic make-up of their New York area. The collection also showcases DeSuze’s multifaceted desire to challenge her Afro-Latinx community’s views on feminism by mirroring their experiences and giving them a reason to feel a part of the shop’s narrative. As her neighborhood continues to grow and change, she doesn’t want her shop to be limiting or divisive. She wants it to be unifying.

Floor plan made by Jennifer Martin using ThingLink.

The sunlight from the nearly floor-to-ceiling-sized windows brightens the hardwood of the small, one-room shop and illuminates the white shelves, which are piled high with black, queer, feminist, and classic literature. Trendy cream-colored tote bags decorate exposed, old-fashioned brick walls. 

Lyndsie Manusos from BookRiot points out that lighting has become an increasingly important part of nailing down a bookshop’s sense of design. Café con Libros has certainly paid special attention to the “vibe” in their shop in this regard. The natural lighting not only creates space, but also an inviting place for folks to browse books while sipping a coffee. This reflects Café con Libros’ mission of being a community space where people would want to stop by and hang out.

A small circular table sits to the immediate right of the door, highlighting books from local writers in a popular “customer-facing” design that Manusos also calls modern, eye-stopping, and customer-first (Manusos). Small shelves by the window display staff-picked books for another anchoring touch of community. A bundle of tote bags hangs on a rustic rail beside it. 

The remainder of the right wall is an impressively large bookcase that displays Café Con Libros’ main collection. Tiny tags with elegant, cursive script denote the shelves with hyper-specific genres and age categories. From left to right, the inventory covers cookbooks, spirituality, and healing before moving into fiction like “LGBTQIA+ literature,” “Queer Romance,” “Asian Diaspora,” “Indigenous Writing,” “Young Adult,” “Latina Reads,” “Science Fiction and Fantasy,” “Graphic Novels,” and “Young Adult,” just to name a few. There are even “not-book” items like little embroidered signs and metal figurines that make the shelves feel homey, just as the writer Lydia Pyne describes in BookShelf. It is a way to “declare one’s identity and individuality” (23 Pyne). Café con Libros holds over two hundred books and each one is handpicked by Kalima DeSuze herself (Best of Brooklyn). The wall feels like a personal collection.


The right wall of Cafe Con Libros, featuring the store’s main collection. Image above taken by Susan De Vries. Image to the right is from Kelsey F. on Yelp.

​As the academic Daphne Spain argues in her study of Feminist Bookstores, women visit feminist bookstores specifically “to see themselves in the books, and the ways books were displayed simplified their search. It was important to stock books by and about African American and Latina women, and equally important to make those collections visible” (88 Spain). According to Café Con Libros’ website, the shop aims to “offer feminist texts for all personalities, political affiliations, temperaments, and tastes.” Their selection means to “represent as many identities as possible.” The abundance of hyper-specific genres captures this intention. 

Understandably, the black feminist classics are front and center. Kalima DeSuze’s favorite book, Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, is always faced out to customers (Abi). Shelf tags like “Modern Black Feminism” and “Black Feminist Classics” have the largest collections, and establish the shop as a landmark location for black feminist book-lovers.

The entire top shelf of the bookcase, miscellaneously marked “Feminist Novels,” continues off the right wall and onto the back wall as well, right above the coffee bar, which takes up the entire back right-hand corner of the shop. 

Their tiny cafe has a rustic yet simultaneously hip and minimalist aesthetic. Mugs hang from the walls, dark umber wood coats the countertop, and a small iPad sits in the place of a traditional register. Coffee is cheap, their largest latte only costing $4, but criminally delicious.

Continuing through the store clockwise, customers travel from womanhood to girlhood. A sign reading “It’s a girl’s world” to the right of the bar marks the threshold of this new portion of the shop: the children’s section, or the place Café Con Libros affectionately reserves for their “baby, budding feminists” (“Café Con Libros”).

This expanse of wall carries colorful toys, puzzles, and stuffies, as well as an entire bookcase of picture and board books. The tags in this section vary from age categories like “Baby” to genre-specific ones like “LGBTQIA+” and “Civil Rights.” There’s a round table at the end of this wall, symmetrical to the other half of the shop, that features children’s books written by local authors.

Unlike objects in a museum that often require plaques for historical context and meaning, the objects of a bookshop speak for themselves. They carry their own narrative. She doesn’t insist that all women are the same, but builds a library of all the ways they are different. DeSuze makes a reason to celebrate it, placing them all together in the same bookcase in the same shop. She resists the sort of other-ing and separatism that first poisoned her neighborhood. 

The design of the shop feels modern, yet historic. Young, yet timeless. To circle the quaint space feels like an invitation to travel both forward and backward in time, to touch and listen to literary objects as they speak their stories, to find the intersection between books penned by and for women of all different bodies, beliefs, and backgrounds. 

Closing the Book: A Reflection on Café Con Libros

The turnout for Cafe Con Libros’ book club meeting for Lab Girl by Hope Jahren. Image taken by Chris Setter

Café con Libros curates a book-loving community that thrives on intersectionality and celebration of culture in a city full of it. The rich history of Crown Heights emphasizes the need for an open space where all are invited to learn and grow from one another’s experiences. Kalima DeSuze runs with this mission in the shop today — developing and adapting new programs and ideas to reach more people within her community, from a podcast she started during the pandemic to a book subscription service she launched this year. The layout only strengthens this narrative with shelves dedicated to different diasporas and an open floor that encourages gathering and can be easily converted into a hub for local events. 

Trailer for “Black Feminist & Bookish,” a podcast made by Cafe Con Libros.

DeSuze is ultimately a community builder. All are invited to spend an afternoon in the cozy space of Café Con Libros, bumping elbows at book clubs while sipping their warm mugs of coffee and cracking open the spine of a new paperback. She designed Café Con Libros to not only be a mirror for the community’s past, but also a window to see its future.

Text Citations

“10 Best Cafes in Crown Heights.” Your Brooklyn Guide, 13 June 2022, yourbrooklynguide.com/cafes-in-crown-heights/.  

“Brooklyn Borough, Kings County, NY.” Census Reporter, censusreporter.org/profiles/06000US3604710022-brooklyn-borough-kings-county-ny/. Accessed 18 Sept. 2023.  

“Cafe Con Libros.” Black-Owned Brooklyn, 1 Mar. 2018, www.blackownedbrooklyn.com/stories/cafe-con-libros.  

“Cafe Con Libros.” Cafe Con Libros, 2018, www.cafeconlibrosbk.com/.  

Cresswell, Tim. “Defining Place.” Place: An Introduction, 2013, p 7.

Fernandez, Stacey. “This Afro-Latina’s Feminist Bookstore Is Building Community in Gentrifying Crown Heights.” Remezcla, 10 Mar. 2018, remezcla.com/features/culture/this-afro-latinas-feminist-bookstore-is-building-community-in-gentrifying-crown-heights/.

Giwa, Cynthia. “Cafe Con Libros.” Black-Owned Brooklyn, 1 Mar. 2018, www.blackownedbrooklyn.com/stories/cafe-con-libros.  

Manusos, Lyndsie. “The Science and Recent History of Bookstore Design.” Book Riot, 22 Feb. 2022, bookriot.com/the-science-and-recent-history-of-bookstore-design/. 

“Menu: Cafe Con Libros.” Cafe Con Libros, www.cafeconlibrosbk.com/menu. Accessed 1 Nov. 2023.

Miller, Laura J. “Serving the Entertained Consumer.” Reluctant Capitalists: Bookselling and the Culture of Consumption, 2007, p. 119.

NYC Department of Finance, Office of the City Register. Deed to 724 Prospect Place. Automated City Register Information System, 5 December 1985, https://a836-acris.nyc.gov/DS/DocumentSearch/DocumentDetail?doc_id=FT_3010009032901

Pyne, Lydia. Bookshelf. Bloomsbury Academic, 2019. 

Schaefer, Richard T. Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Society. SAGE, 2008.

Spain, Daphne. “Feminist Bookstores: Building Identity.” Constructive Feminism: Women’s Spaces and Women’s Rights in the American City, Cornell University Press, 2016, pp. 84-110.

Staff, Bklyner. “What Does the New Census Data Tell Us About Brooklyn?” Bklyner, 13 Aug. 2021, bklyner.com/brooklyn-census-2020/. Stout, David. “The Case That Rocked Crown Heights.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 15 Aug. 1996, www.nytimes.com/1996/08/15/nyregion/the-case-that-rocked-crown-heights.html.

Image, Video, and Audio Citations

Black Feminist & Bookish. “Black Feminist & Bookish.” Spotify.

Cafe con Libros. @cafeconlibros_bk. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/cafeconlibros_bk/

“Portraits by Chris Setter.” NYC Photographer Chris Setter, www.chrissetter.com/. Accessed 18 Sept. 2023. 

F., Kelsey. Yelp. https://www.yelp.com/user_details?userid=nL8Ub9QbzrSqWY0LlJMxpA. Accessed 1 Nov. 2020

“The Alliance Between America’s Black and Jewish Activists Has Long Been Troubled” by Arica Coleman, 22 Aug. 2016. TIME, https://time.com/4460730/crown-heights-anniversary-blm-platform/.

Welcome Home: Molly’s Books & Records

Welcome Home: Molly’s Books & Records

By Ella Baker, Natalie Chamberlain, Kendall Reif, Lexie Kauffman, and Liann Quinones Melendez

In the heart of Philadelphia’s historic Italian Marketplace, Molly Russakoff invites wanderers into her home, Molly’s Books & Records. By sharing the unique culture of its surroundings, this personal bookstore blurs the line between business and family. 

The mosaic storefront // Photo credit: Molly’s Books & Records Facebook

The eye-catching mosaic storefront coaxes guests off the streets and draws them to the boxes of bargain books, records, and movies that frame the front door. Russakoff’s touch is evident from the start; a hand-painted sandwich board sits alongside the curb and gems from her collection are featured in the window. It feels inviting and familiar, like returning home after a long day. Even before they take a step inside, Russakoff considers everyone guests rather than customers. 

“It’s our home,” Russakoff said when asked about the atmosphere of her store. “We like to keep that feeling, where you’re coming into our home. [It’s] bright [and] organized. We like things to be easy to find and we like to be helpful and friendly.”

As the glass door opens, 600 square-feet of paradise is revealed where hand-painted signs hang proudly from the ceiling and colorful tile covers the floor. Russakoff knows that navigating a literary landscape can be daunting, and that’s why she meticulously crafted hand-painted signs for each section. They guide guests through the literary genres and authors, ensuring everyone can easily find their next great read. The signs point to different CD’s and records that line the wall to the right with the poetry section next to it. These shelves are symbolic of the owners themselves: Molly Russakoff and Joe Ankenbrand, a poet and musician.

Handmade greeting cards made by Molly Russakoff // Photo credit: Abigail Weil

Books and records are not the only items that reside within Russakoff’s place. Like many bookstores, Molly’s Books & Records sells non-book items around the store. According to Lydia Pyne, a historian and writer, “Putting not-books on a shelf in addition to actual books is a way of declaring one’s identity and individuality” (Pyne 25); Molly’s fully embodies Pyne’s ideas on expression through objects.

This is evident in the mugs and trinkets, adorned with beloved store motifs, that are thoughtfully placed, serving as a reminder that this is more than just a business; it’s a labor of love. Even more, scattered along the endcaps are notecards, featuring art from children’s books, a reminder that this is a space where the young and old come together to explore the loveliness of literature. The handmade nature of their not-books and the homey-feel of the mugs all point towards the larger theme of Molly’s Books & Records: home.

The checkout counter // Photo Credit: Marietta C

Inside this home, the check-out counter functions as a foyer. It’s directly to the left, usually staffed by Russakoff’s son, Johnny, or Russakoff and Ankenbrand themselves. The store cat, Mrs. Stevenson, roams the store and the apartment above, where Russakoff and her family live, effectively bridging the business and the family home. Even the family cat treats customers like they’re part of the family, choosing a lucky guest to tag-along with on their journey through the shelves.

The store is split into three general sections. The first section is the busiest and functions most like a family room, the hub of all household activity. Here, at the front of the store, Russakoff and Ankenbrand’s passions—poetry and music—are most on display. Past the checkout counter is a long wall of fiction. The shelves of books amass the space, from floor to ceiling. Pyne hypothesizes that bookshelves control how one interacts with a space. She states, “Bookshelves serve as powerful symbols” (Pyne 81). They “immediately cue us to how we ought to interact with a room and how much importance or power we assign it” (Pyne 81). Molly’s bookshelves welcome guests into the store and keep the space warm and homey. There is no social prejudice or hierarchy in the shelves that overflow with books. The lighter wood—oak, maybe pine—is inviting and approachable. This is an affordable wood that makes a bookshelf that doesn’t judge its customers or its contents. It’s not fancy; it’s simple, like it’s there for everyone to enjoy.

Fiction Wall (wall furthest from the entrance) // Photo Credit: Kirstie Ellen

In addition to these bookshelves, Russakoff intentionally chooses the lighting for her store to curate a sense of comfort and ease. The fluorescent lights are chosen for their brightness, allowing customers to easily read titles on the shelves. However, Russakoff ensures that the lighting is not too harsh; it’s bright enough to facilitate browsing but soft enough to create a cozy and inviting atmosphere. In this subtle way, she makes the space accessible, not just physically but also aesthetically.

Russakoff’s commitment to creating an accessible space is reflected by the content she sells. All of the books are used—in other words, they’ve been loved before—and reasonably priced. They’re arranged with their spines out, and ordered alphabetically by the authors’ last names. Filled-to the brim and charmingly unpredictable, the shelves create a lived-in and happy atmosphere. The inventory is updated, relevant, and carefully organized. Russakoff’s curated selection of fiction is a testament to her own literary preferences, featuring titles by renowned authors like Atwood, Hemingway and Faulkner, among many others. Her wish is to share what she loves, whilst still having something for everyone who comes in. 

The next section of Molly’s operates as a sitting room—a place of conversation, community and culture. It begins with two categories: Local and Philosophy/Religion. This section forms a rectangular alcove that has general nonfiction books to the right and art to the left. The other literature sections reflect different facets of personal life, each item handpicked. These things can all hold stories, memories, and meanings. On the top of the shelves, Russakoff displays her collection of rare and valuable books. She doesn’t cross paths with items like these frequently, but when she does, she ensures they are priced fairly while still receiving the return they deserve. The store is truly Russakoff’s personal library, as seen in the floor plan below. 

A comprehensive floor plan of Molly’s Books & Records, originally drawn by Molly Russakoff. Please note that this is not drawn fully to scale.

Molly’s Books & Records leans into this personal aspect in every detail. This is evident when entering the heart of the home, the metaphorical kitchen. The cookbook room is signaled by a white and blue hand-painted sign that hangs above the narrow wooden doorway. Within the room, shelves overflow with cookbooks from an amalgamation of cuisines and cultures.

Molly Russakoff standing in the Cookbook Room, under a hand-painted sign that marks the entrance to the room. // Photo Credit: Natalie Piserchio

About seven years ago, Russakoff decided to bring her love of food and cooking into the bookstore via an extensive culinary collection. In this section, guests can find anything from general cookbooks to chef biographies. The selection is diverse and flexible because Molly’s Books & Records has a loose definition of food writing. Their stock includes “biographies and memoirs, essay collections by writers like MFK Fisher, and reference works” (Weil) as well as what one would expect. This space provides an important connection between Molly’s and the surrounding community, perpetuating the intentions of the Italian Market. 

For over 40 years, Russakoff has lived and loved in The Italian Marketplace, a place of preserved culture and cuisine. The distinctive culture of the area reflects itself in a strong literary community, in which Russakoff is acutely connected. 

Russakoff’s father, Jerome Russakoff, opened his own indie bookstore—Russakoff’s Books and Records—sometime between 1982 and 1986 on 259 South 10th Street. Eventually, in 1997 Jerome handed down ownership of the shop to Molly Russakoff’s brother, Joe Russakoff. Since then, Russakoff’s Books and Records has officially been known as Mostly Books and has relocated to 529 Bainbridge Street in the early 2000s. Considering this familial history of bookselling, it should not have come to any surprise that Molly Russakoff would continue the tradition and open up her own bookshop. 

Around 2000, Russakoff purchased the property that Molly’s Books & Records currently operates on. Since then, she has opened and subsequently closed various businesses on this property: Molly’s Cafe, Bella Vista Natural Foods, and Molly’s Cafe and Bookstore. Russakoff raised her kids—Karla and Johnny—above the transformative space. This building is a part of the family, and she was determined to keep a business going in the community she loved. 

This timeline tracks the history of Molly Russakoff, the owner of the independent bookstore Molly’s Books & Records in Philly, PA. It focuses on the idea of Molly’s shop as a homestead that has a long series of preceding events leading to its creation. By connecting each event to this idea of forming a ‘home’ within a bookstore, the development of Molly’s mindset toward her business is visible as well as the factors that have led to the success/resilience of Molly’s Books & Records.


In the late 2000’s, she partnered with her now-husband, Joe Ankenbrand. The two met after Rusakoff had just closed her store, and was planning to reopen once again as a bookstore. She was in possession of records that she didn’t know how to price. Ankenbrand, who knew Rusakoff’s brother, had been a vinyl record collector since 1964, so she went to him for advice. The two combined forces and the rest, as they say, was history. 

Molly’s Books & Records opened in 2010, and a few years later, Russakoff and Ankenbrand were married in the bookstore, their home, surrounded by all the things they loved. They briefly ran an outlet for excess merchandise that did not fit the original store’s identity on Passyunk Avenue, a street away from the central location, but it was only open for a year and a half before the couple made the decision to close it. This experience made them realize that they’d rather focus their attention on one place and develop a single dedicated location for their guests: Molly’s Books & Records.

Every business venture Russakoff made in South Philadelphia was an attempt to create place, which according to human geographer Tim Cresswell is essentially defined as “a space invested with meaning” (Cresswell 12). Time and time again, Russakoff invested meaning into the building on 1010 South 9th Street. Every business she operated connected with the community and established relationships with the people of Bella Vista. Russakoff’s focus on home coincides perfectly with the history of the Italian Marketplace because South Philadelphia has been a haven for Italian immigration since the late 18th century. The map below works to further depict the way that Molly’s Books & Records functions within the surrounding Bella Vista neighborhood. It highlights the emphasis on food in the community and the businesses of various origins that call the neighborhood their home. Some markers work to show the emphasis on community in the area.

This map of Bella Vista features the locations of Molly Russakoff’s former businesses, showing us just how close together they have all been, and how Molly has repeatedly searched to establish her ‘home’ in the Italian Marketplace. Some markers on the map work to show the emphasis of community in the area.

Historically, Bella Vista was the core for Italian-immigrant life, and it was here that they attempted to preserve Italian identity in a Western culture. They moved into this neighborhood and worked hard to make it a multifunctional home. For example, when Italian immigrants settled in the neighborhood, they were able to adapt their housing to supply goods and services for Italian households. They would transform the first floor to be their shop, while using the rest of the building as a homestead, blurring the line between business and home even then. This historical architecture is still visible today in shops like Molly’s Books & Records. The bottom floor remains a commercial space to share cultures and passions, while the upper floor is Russakoff’s home where she raised her kids and lives a life of love.   

9th Street’s Italian Market thrives on love, like Russakoff. Its retailers are beyond passionate, and its beauty comes from the rich individuality of every single place. In his work Defining Place, Cresswell goes on to assert that the idea of place is “…not so much a quality of things in the world but an aspect of the way we choose to think about it – what we decide to emphasize and what we decide to designate as unimportant” (Cresswell 11). Evidently, the neighborhood of Bella Vista has chosen to emphasize one thing in particular: food. Food is something that can be almost perfectly translated across place and time: with the same recipes and ingredients, food can be timeless. In fact, over one hundred years later, many of the original vendors and businesses remain in the area. However, the food market itself has diversified as new waves of immigration entered Philadelphia. In 1983, the first Korean-owned establishment joined the many businesses within the Italian Marketplace (Tangires). From then on, different cuisines—from Mexican, to Chinese, to Vietnamese—can now be found alongside the Italian classics. Currently, the Bella Vista neighborhood houses many different ethnicities, with 17.7% Italian descendants, 16.5% Irish descendants, and 11.7% of German descendants, according to the United States Census Bureau. The diversity in the community is manifested in rich history and a mutual love of food. The neighborhood’s vast population of restaurants and stores with food-related wares communicates a desire to preserve its residents’ culture.

A snapshot of the extensive cookbook collection at Molly’s Books & Records // Photo Credit: Abigail Weil

The store symbolizes a genuine melting pot, as it serves the diverse community with culturally-enriched literature. Russakoff’s focus on cookbooks assists the neighborhood’s mission to define a sense of community and helps Molly’s Books & Records solidify their position in the culture of Bella Vista. In her book Reluctant Capitalists, sociologist Laura J. Miller explains that independent bookstores, such as Molly’s Books & Records, “assume position as cultural authorities” (Miller 84).

Molly’s Books & Records pursued this task of representing the culinary cultures of Bella Vista through a carefully curated cookbook collection. Considering Bella Vista’s history with immigration and cultural diversity, the cookbook collection extends its range far beyond the neighborhood’s Italian population with books “devoted to Pennsylvania Dutch, African American, Native American, Jewish, Scandinavian, Indian, and Middle Eastern cuisines, among others” (Weil). In their pursuit of diverse cultural representation through cookbooks, Molly’s Books & Records became the intersection of culinary and literary cultures in South Philadelphia.

This intersection creates a new and unique function of the store. It seems less like a commercial endeavor, and more like a place of learning. Russakoff invites guests into her home to share the history of the surrounding community as well as her own, almost like pulling old family photo albums out from the attic. She seems to make reading—and the exploration of lifestyles that comes with reading—approachable with her low prices, well-loved stock, and personally curated selection. Her store appears to be a convergence point of culture, providing knowledge for all.

Each book on her shelves is a lesson plan for the community. Russakoff’s definition of literature seems didactic—something that’s intended to teach life-lessons and broaden perspectives. The store may be a place of learning, but the books on the shelves provide the physical teaching materials. Some stock, like the cookbooks, are literal step-by-step instructions. The literature serves the guests and teaches the community, just waiting to be discovered and appreciated.

From the shelves, books and trinkets, to the host herself, this place welcomes everyone home. Molly’s Books & Records is a source of love—love for knowledge, love for oneself, love for community, love for culture, and love for food. 

Works Cited

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Cresswell, Tim. “Defining Place.” Place: An Introduction, 2013, pp. 10-12.

DeMuro, Catherine. “Italian Market Q and A: Joe Ankenbrand, Co-Owner of Molly’s Books and Records on 9th Street.” The 9th Street Beat, 3 Mar. 2015, 9thstreetbeat.wordpress.com/2015/03/03/italian-market-q-a-joe-ankenbrand-co-owner-of-mollys-books-and-records-on-9th-street/. Accessed 8 Oct. 2023.

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Edwards, Tamala. “Married Couple Shares Their Love of Books, Music at Molly’s Books and Records in South Philly.” ABC Action News, 3 Mar. 2022, 6abc.com/mollys-books-and-records-italian-market-south-philadelphia-art-of-aging/11617396/. Accessed 15 Sept. 2023.

Forsythe, Pamela J. “The Italian Legacy in Philadelphia: History, Culture, People, and Ideas.” Broad Street Review, 18 Jan. 2022, www.broadstreetreview.com/reviews/the-italian-legacy-in-philadelphia-history-culture-people-and-ideas-edited-by-andrea-canepari-and-judith-goode. Accessed 8 Oct. 2023.

“History.” S. 9TH ST. ITALIAN MARKET PHILADELPHIA, PA, www.italianmarketphilly.org/history.html. Accessed 9 Oct. 2023.

“Italian Market, Philadelphia.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 May 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Market,_Philadelphia. Accessed 8 Oct. 2023.

Kov, Daniel. “Molly’s Books and Records.” The Secondhand Beat, 12 Mar. 2011, thesecondhandbeat.wordpress.com/2011/03/12/mollys-books-records-part-ii/. Accessed 8 Oct. 2023.

—. “Mostly Books.” The Secondhand Beat, 9 Apr. 2011, thesecondhandbeat.wordpress.com/2011/04/09/mostly-books/. Accessed 8 Oct. 2023.

Luconi, Stefano. “Italians and Italy.” The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, 2017, philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/essays/italians-and-italy/#:~:text=It%20was%2C%20therefore%2C%20no%20surprise,and%20Leghorn%20in%20their%20homeland. Accessed 8 Oct. 2023.

Miller, Peter N. “How Objects Speak.” The Chronicle Review. Accessed 11 Aug. 2014.

Miller, Laura J. “Providing for the Sovereign Consumer: Selecting and Recommending Books.” Reluctant Capitalists: Bookselling and the Culture of Consumption, Chicago, 2007, pp. 55-85.

Prihar, Asha. “A Poet, a Doctor, a Muse: Meet the Bookstore Cats of Philadelphia.” Billy Penn at Whyy, 10 Oct. 2022, billypenn.com/2022/10/10/bookstore-cats-philadelphia-mollys-book-trader-pets/. Accessed 8 Oct. 2023.

Pyne, Lydia. “Bookshelves as Signs and Symbols.” Bookshelf, London, Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020.

—. “The Things That Go on a Bookshelf.” Bookshelf, London, Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020.

Russakoff, Molly. Personal interview with the author. 25 Oct. 2023.

The South 9th Street Italian Market Philadelphia. www.italianmarketphilly.org/. Accessed 8 Oct. 2023.

Tangires, Helen. “Italian Market.” The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/essays/italian-market/. Accessed 8 Oct. 2023.

United States Census Bureau. data.census.gov/profile/ZCTA5_19147?g=860XX00US19147#employment. Accessed 19 Sept. 2023.

Weil, Abigail. “There’s No Place in Philly Quite like Molly’s Books & Records.” Eater Philadelphia, 13 Dec. 2021, philly.eater.com/2021/12/13/22820597/mollys-books-records-italian-market-bookstore-cookbooks. Accessed 8 Oct. 2023.

Images Used

C., Bri. _Yelp_, 31 July 2022, https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/mollys-books-and-records-philadelphia?select=_hDaBMI9RDKwfe0JXcbr9A. 30 Nov. 2023.

C, Marietta. Arts and Sciences Section. 9 Dec. 2018, www.yelp.com/biz_photos/mollys-books-and-records-philadelphia?select=DpAPgT-ccTo6H4jLpuNVGw. Accessed 5 Dec. 2023.

—. Checkout Counter. 9 Dec. 2018, www.yelp.com/biz_photos/mollys-books-and-records-philadelphia?select=DpAPgT-ccTo6H4jLpuNVGw. Accessed 5 Dec. 2023.

—. Jazz Records. 9 Dec. 2018, www.yelp.com/biz_photos/mollys-books-and-records-philadelphia?select=DpAPgT-ccTo6H4jLpuNVGw. Accessed 5 Dec. 2023.

—. Rock and Pop Records. 9 Dec. 2018, www.yelp.com/biz_photos/mollys-books-and-records-philadelphia?select=DpAPgT-ccTo6H4jLpuNVGw. Accessed 5 Dec. 2023.

DeMuro, Catherine. Ankenbrand. The 9th Street Beat, 3 Mar. 2015, 9thstreetbeat.wordpress.com/2015/03/03/italian-market-q-a-joe-ankenbrand-co-owner-of-mollys-books-and-records-on-9th-street/. Accessed 8 Oct. 2023.

Ellen, Kirstie. Molly’s Books and Records. 2 Apr. 2018, ozbooksnail.com/2018/04/02/bookstores-to-visit-in-philadelphia-for-book-lovers/. Accessed 5 Dec. 2023.

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Molly’s Books and Records. 3 Nov. 2018, www.tangfamily.me/italian-market/. Accessed 5 Dec. 2023.

Molly’s Books and Records, _FaceBook_, 1 June 2017, https://www.facebook.com/mollysbooksandrecords/photos/pb.100066605814222.-2207520000/1489619537762206/?type=3. 30 Nov. 2023.

Molly’s Books & Records Family: “Married Couple Shares Their Love of Books, Music at Molly’s Books and Records in South Philly.” 6abc Philadelphia, 3 Mar. 2022, 6abc.com/mollys-books-and-records-italian-market-south-philadelphia-art-of-aging/11617396/.

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Records for Sale. Map Quest, www.mapquest.com/us/pennsylvania/mollys-books-and-records-2345352. Accessed 15 Sept. 2023.

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Midtown Scholar Bookstore: Unity Through Unanimity

Midtown Scholar Bookstore: Unity Through Unanimity

Place and People: Present

Midtown Scholar Bookstore, located in the bustling city center of Pennsylvania’s capital, has become a staple in the Harrisburg area since its doors opened in 2001.

Tim Cresswell, in his text “Defining Place,” talks about political geographer, John Agnew’s, “three fundamental aspects of place as a ‘meaningful location.” These aspects are location, locale, and sense of place. It’s already been said that Midtown Scholar is located in Harrisburg, PA, but what is “the actual shape of place within which people conduct their lives as individuals,” (Cresswell 7)?

Midtown Scholar is surrounded by a population made up of mostly people 25 years old and up, with the majority unmarried and living alone (Claritas). It is also a diversified area regarding race and ethnicity. The neighborhood Midtown Scholar is housed in has been referred to as “an up-and-coming neighborhood” by Jim Cheney in his September 2023 review for Uncovering PA.

Keep in mind that this is only a small segment of the population which can find enjoyment in Midtown Scholar and all it has to offer. Harrisburg acts as a go between and tourist destination for many who pass through central Pennsylvania. Looking at the map of Midtown and downtown Harrisburg, one will find several locations (marked in purple) that were built, like Midtown Scholar (marked in red), for the artistic, cultural, and historical betterment of the community. Midtown Scholar sits in the same strip as the famed Broad Street Market, known for its numerous vendors and fresh foods, and the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center, known for its live music performances. Also not far are the Susquehanna Art Museum and Midtown Cinema. Just on the other side of Forster Street, a main road running through Center City, anyone interested can visit the State Museum of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex, Capitol Park, or The Forum Auditorium, all beautiful representations of the art, architecture, and history of the Harrisburg area. And if that all is not enough to fill the day, taking a quick trip through the Strawberry Square shopping center could kill some time as well.

The bookstore makes a point of being involved with the community surrounding them. Jim Cheney’s review in Uncovering PA states, “The local arts scene is quite prevalent in the store, with local artists, authors, and speakers frequenting the Scholar’s stage and the work of local artists hanging on the walls.” Anyone who visits the About Us: Community page on the Midtown Scholar website can see their preference for local representation in their featured events and works.

To have such a hand in the community, the store must understand who this community is and why their influence on the store and its influence on them is culturally significant to the Harrisburg area. In this way, the community and the store formulate their sense of place. The community and the locale and how it all interacts show how, “places must have some relationship to humans and the human capacity to produce and consume meaning,” (Cresswell 7). This is the sense of place Midtown Scholar has built for itself over the course of its (so far) 22 years.

Place and People: Past

Having historical significance through the revolutionary and civil wars, Harrisburg has consistently been a turning point for political discourse and a shifting populus, highlighted by how quickly the city changed from farmland owned primarily by the wealthy in the mid-1800s to an industrial hotspot following the civil war, evolving into the diverse metropolitan center it stands as now. Alongside the growth of the city itself, the Midtown neighborhood followed close behind, having an omnipresent connection to art and education due to its affluent nature which allowed it to flourish through the years.

This is not to discount the working-class of Midtown, however, who resided largely in an area known as Hardscrabble towards the north-end of its border. Despite being a location rooted in wealth, the demographics of Midtown have been fairly diverse since industrialization. Originally referred to as Uptown before the Midtown Square Action Council popularized its current name, the neighborhood has a long and storied history of growing directly alongside its communities, and the story of Midtown Scholar is no different.

Co-owners and marital partners Catherine Lawrence and Eric Papenfuse began selling books out of their home in 2001 after having a shared passion of literature and academia, coining the name “Midtown Scholar” to represent this mutual interest, and opening with a stock of roughly 15,000 texts ranging from art books to textbooks. After selling books on their online storefront for over two years, Lawrence and Papenfuse decided that their customers could better connect with their texts if they were able to interact with them directly and view them in-person, choosing to purchase a historic property where the lower level was still dedicated to online sales, and the top floor served as a mix between a bookstore and a lounge.

After being housed in this location for 5 years, the owners decided to purchase the modern property located at the corner of 3rd and Verbeke, fully renovating the building for a year before reopening in 2008. Having expanded the size of their store and growing their collection of texts exponentially, every choice the owners made in redesigning the interior was deliberate, leading to an environment that Papenfuse described as a “catalyst for civic engagement and urban development,” further emphasizing their aptitude at place-making and growing alongside their community. 

Prior to Midtown Scholar’s arrival in the neighborhood, the presence of literary hubs were slim to none, described by Lawrence as a “book desert” before their business was the first independent bookstore to open in the area. In founding and maintaining a store with such a diverse selection, the Scholar has been able to promote the same love for literature its owners possess, allowing those from all walks of life to find something they’d enjoy regardless of their experience with academia. This is one of Midtown Scholar’s core messages– that there is no required level of education or class to enjoy books. When these resources are made available to all, a deeper sense of community and togetherness can be established.

In this sense, Midtown Scholar and the Sunwise Turn bookstores are remarkably similar to each other, as elaborated upon in Joanne O’Sullivan’s article The Brief, Joyous Life of the Sunwise Turn Bookshop. From O’Sullivan’s description of Sunwise Turn in the article, it can be seen as a dark mirror of the Scholar, being founded by two partners who had a love for how literature could impact an individual, and looking to bring a community together within its walls. Despite these similarities, the largest reason Sunwise Turn failed where Midtown Scholar succeeded is due to their approach to sales as a whole, described by O’Sullivan as not being “particularly conducive to cash flow” (O’Sullivan). The importance of these similarities and differences are that they highlight the crucialness of a bookstore balancing its community with how it operates as a business, needing just enough of both in order to ensure their literary sanctuary continues to exist.

Space and Objects

Midtown Scholar is a different experience on every floor, from the main floor brimming with bestsellers, to their balcony full of used and new fiction, to their underground scholarly levels stacked with rare books. Despite these varied experiences, Midtown Scholar still ties them together, presenting a cohesive, universal feel that appeals to people of all different walks of life. While the layouts of each individual floor showcase the individuality of the section, Midtown Scholar’s winding staircases and other connectors keep the sections fluid and easy to navigate. This connective tissue between their sections curate a sense of belonging across different levels and encourages a diverse and inclusive community to wander the shop.

Between their expanded collection of new, used, rare, and scholarly books, you can go to Midtown Scholar and get any blend of experiences, perfectly tailoring the bookstore to your needs as a consumer. This universal appeal stems from things as obvious as the books themselves to objects as integral to the store as the architecture of the store and the bookshelves themselves. As Pyne states in her book, “Bookshelves act as the mediating object between a person and a book; how the book is met depends on the mobility of the shelf,” (Pyne, 52). Books are presented differently to encourage different customers to interact with them. 

For example, if you were to follow me through the front door and up one of Midtown Scholar’s worn metal staircases to my favorite part of the bookstore, the fantasy and sci-fi section on the balcony, you would find a section reminiscent of local childhood libraries, comfortably all-encompassing. The shelves of alphabetized fiction rise high overhead, to the point that I feel small, but not uncomfortably so. The books here appeal to the nostalgia their shelves encourage, creating a cohesive experience that appeals to the average college student or bookish geek. The metal bannister of the balcony runs all the way around and down the staircases to the ground floor, giving guests some consistency as they travel from one section to another.

Back on the ground floor, shelves full of famous mainstream authors line the walls, old wood framing the novels tucked away against the edges of the room. However, the other main attraction of the ground floor, perfect bound romance and fantasy novels, take center stage on easily movable tables. All the books on these tables are faced up and designed to draw potential customers to the bright graphics on the front covers. Nothing like the feel of the balcony, these tables can be rearranged quickly and have fast turnover, appealing to those who wish to browse the newest bestsellers while remaining easy to adjust at a moment’s notice. 

The difference between the upper and the scholarly floors is striking as well. If you travel another level down a familiar metal bannistered staircase, you’ll find sturdy old bookshelves with huge empty spaces between books. Each book is given room to breathe, and a certain sense of respect that you don’t find on the ground floor, with stacks of mass-produced, perfect-bound novels. These books speak to the “scholar” part of Midtown Scholar’s name, and as Pyne points out, “authority, advantage, and social status [… are] most easily symbolized by the presence of bookshelves, particularly in a social space” (Pyne 75).

Using these notable differences between shelves, Midtown Scholar presents experiences that feel comfortable to every type of customer. At the same time, the connective staircases serve as comfortable transition between worlds. They don’t intrude on the differences of the sections but instead remind customers that despite differences, all are welcome throughout the store, and they offer common ground between genres. You can step inside and travel through a cafe, an independent bookstore, a library, a scholar’s space, or all of the above, all within the space of one building. 

Cultural Functions

Midtown Scholar Bookstore was founded on the principle of making culture accessible for all. According to Merriam-Webster, culture is the “enlightenment and excellence of taste acquired by intellectual and aesthetic training” (“Culture Definition & Meaning”). The store initially began as an online seller of used academic books, which made educational materials affordable and easy for customers to access. As the store grew and eventually placed its roots in the Midtown neighborhood of Harrisburg, a mission statement was established to adequetly encapsulate these ideals, writing: “Since 2001, our family business has worked to transform our community by providing a welcoming space for the discussion & exchange of ideas about books, politics, arts & culture, and history” (“About Us”). 

Midtown Scholar makes itself a welcoming space for culture through its carefully curated inventory and well thought out events. 

Photo courtesy of Emily Costantino

With a focus on both new and used books, they are promoting new ideas while also preserving historical culture. In both these categories, there are books ranging from various topics in both nonfiction and fiction. The entire main level houses all the new books that cover topics like young adult literature, history, science fiction, and the classics. As you travel deeper into the store, specifically into the lower levels, you are met with books that are more geared towards academia with subjects focusing on global affairs, world and U.S. history, religion, humanities, and social sciences. Finally, there is the balcony level that features used books in art history, fiction, young adult fiction, poetry, science fiction, literary criticism, and theatre.

By having such a wide variety of books in all these topics, Midtown Scholar is providing the public with a passageway into so many realms of culture. Their selection of inventory truly reflects their mission statement by offering books that exchange ideas regarding politics, arts, culture, and history. Although their selection is vast, each area is blended together through the store’s sprawling hallways and stairwells. Thus, providing an avenue for customers to explore whatever literary journey they desire.

Another way Midtown Scholar promotes the diffusion of cultural ideas is through its events. On the main level of the store, there is a stage meant to house all kinds of community events that range from author signings to book readings to music performances. This constant cycle of happenings provides the locals with a space for discussion on topics surrounding music, politics, and literature. Additionally, Midtown Scholar originated the annual Harrisburg Book Festival which focuses entirely on celebrating literature through a week of book-themed events. 

In MacLeish’s A Free Man’s Books, books are described frequently as being weapons. He makes the argument that books are “instruments by which the lives of men and nations can be shaped” (MacLeish 7). Although Midtown Scholar does not take as abrasive of a stance as MacLeish, the sentiment still remains: books are vital tools to preserve and disperse culture. Later on in the piece, MacLeish makes the claim that booksellers need to understand and have a passion for the content of their books, or else they are just feeding into the commercialization of literature. The founders and owners of Midtown Scholar, Eric Papenfuse and Catherine Lawrence, have accomplished this by making it a point to focus on uplifting ideas surrounding all kinds of cultural topics. They stock their store with books based on content rather than on profit. They host a slew of events meant to foster discussion and learning about a range of topics. If anyone understands and proves that books are weapons, it’s Midtown Scholar. 

Literature

Walter Benjamin wrote in Unpacking My Library, “Every passion borders on the chaotic, but the collector’s passion borders on the chaos of memories” (Benjamin). When you walk through the front door of Midtown Scholar, you immediately know what chaos means. Not only are you met with a bustling counter where you can order coffee, tea, and various pastries, a big stage where the bookstore holds events, and customers milling about, but you are also met with tens of thousands of books. Not just bestsellers and fiction pieces (which they do have, right when you walk in the door on the first floor) but they have scholarly literature.

Midtown Scholar started when the founder, Eric Papenfuse, wanted to sell his textbooks that he acquired from his years at Yale University. Papenfuse and his wife, Catherine Lawrence, originally bonded over their love for books and history. It is very fitting that Midtown Scholar reflects their love in a way that helps the community. Casual readers, book lovers, and collectors alike can all go to Midtown Scholar to find almost any piece of literature that they want. Downstairs they have world history, with an entire floor being dedicated to the history of the United States.

According to Midtown Scholar’s About Us page, Papenfuse studied American history at college while Lawrence Studied British history. Global literature is located one floor below the American history floor, and it is an impressive section. A plethora of countries and cultures are highlighted in the expansive bookshelves, and Midtown Scholar makes sure to differentiate between cultures that sometimes get mixed in or associated with another culture, such as the distinction between British history, Scottish history, and Irish history.

Up the stairs from the main level is a section of art history. History from all over the world, from Picasso to Kahlo to da Vinci. The diversity of the catalog that Midtown Scholar offers is nothing short of amazing. While the store might be chaotic, there is a beauty to it. The exchange of literature, and thus ideas and knowledge, brings people together. Literature gives people something to talk about, and Midtown Scholar is just the place to do it. They create an environment that uplifts spirits and a community. They do so by inspiring people to collect literature, and along the way they collect both things previously mentioned and more. Love for literature constructs a love for life, and Midtown Scholar is a place that loves both. 

Works Cited

“About Us.” Midtown Scholar Bookstore-Cafewww.midtownscholar.com/history-and-mission. Accessed 29 Nov. 2023

Benjamin, Walter. Unpacking My Library. Shocken Books, 1931. 

Cheney, Jim. “Visiting Midtown Scholar Bookstore: Harrisburg’s Best Destination for Literary Lovers.” Uncovering PA, 6 Sept. 2023, uncoveringpa.com/midtown-scholar-bookstore.

Cresswell, Tim. “Defining Place.” Place: A Short Introduction, Blackwell Publishing, Malden, MA, 2004, p. 7.

“Culture Definition & Meaning.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture. Accessed 29 Nov. 2023. 

“History and Mission.” Midtown Scholar Bookstore-Cafe, https://www.midtownscholar.com/history-and-mission.

“LIVE | The Story of an Independent Bookstore with Catherine Lawrence and Eric Papenfuse.” YouTube, YouTube, 27 Apr. 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpdFCTpNQj4. Accessed 9 Dec. 2023.

MacLeish, Archibald. A Free Man’s Books. The Peter Pauper Press, 1942. 

O’Sullivan, Joanne.“The Brief, Joyous Life of the Sunwise Turn Bookshop.” Literary Hub, 26 Apr. 2021, lithub.com/the-brief-joyous-life-of-the-sunwise-turn-bookshop/. Accessed 2 Dec. 2023.

Population by Race & Ethnicity. Claritas, https://claritas360.claritas.com/mybestsegments/#zipLookup.

Pyne, L. (2019). Bookshelf. Bloomsbury Academic.

Images/Graphics Citations
  • Map courtesy of Olivia Neumyer
  • Floor plan courtesy of Celia Lansing
  • Timeline courtesy of Jacob Rockoff
  • Photo of bell courtesy of Emily Costantino

(Mon)Dragon, the Final Boss

Nestled in the heart of Central Pennsylvania, the borough of Lewisburg sits alongside the Susquehanna River. Incorporated in  1812, Lewisburg was born out of a river town and soon began to grow. With the canal being built along the banks of the river, and then the railroads coming into the picture in the late 1800s, the town became the industry town in the area. With new business come expansion of population, stores, and the newly incorporated Bucknell University, which is located just south of the borough line. As the town grew in the early 20th century, the main business district began to form along what is now called Market Street (previously Main Street). With this growth and development splurging late into the 1900s, business stretched away from the two block cluster (between 3rd and 5th street) to the full length of Market, including the current sight of Mondragon, a locally owned used book store.

With Lewisburg being a river town, there is some sever downsides, which the town has dealt with numerous times: flooding. With Bull Run creek running right through the business district and the Susquehanna to the town’s east, Lewisburg got severely damaged in both the 1936 and 1972 floods. But, with the tight knitting of the community and the hard work of everyone, Lewisburg bounced back and became even stronger for the generations to come.

When you ask someone if they’re from Lewisburg and they tell you “yes,” what they probably mean is that their parents are from Lewisburg, and so are their grandparents, and possibly their great-grandparents. They mean that this heritage, the ability to say that they are “from Lewisburg” was passed down to them, a tradition given to them by the family that came before. Most of Lewisburg is like this. It’s a place where people don’t really leave and, if they do, they come back when they’re ready to have families of their own, and pass it down to their own children.

The outside of Mondragon Books

This inheritance tradition that permeates Lewisburg has made it the perfect place for a bookstore like Mondragon. It’s similar to the way Sarajane runs her shop, allowing Mondragon to be a place of family and tradition, somewhere for the customers to feel at home. If you find a book at Mondragon (with the collection Sarajane has, it is almost guaranteed you will) it’s possible to negotiate the price with Sarajane. Volunteering at Mondragon gets you a coupon for a free book. It’s a process not dissimilar from going to your grandma’s house and coming home with whatever trinket she gave you to keep. Like that trinket, that inheritance gives the book new life. As Benjamin says, “I am not exaggerating when I say that to a true collector the acquisition of an old book is its rebirth. This is the childlike element which in a collector mingles with the element of old age. For children can accomplish the renewal…” (Benjamin, 61). Literature is brought back to life in Lewisburg through Mondragon and the way it inherits books. It adds meaning to Lewisburg as a place.

This meaning is something that Cresswell notes when he says, “This…space has a history–it meant something to some other people…Now what do you do?…You could add your own possessions…arrange a few books purposefully on the desk. Thus space is turned to place. Your place” (Cresswell 2). This acquisition of something that belonged to somebody else but now belongs to you, this inheritance, can be made your own, and thus be given new life. The people of Lewisburg, through their inheritance tradition of passing the town down to their descendants, turned the space of Lewisburg into place. Likewise, Sarajane has turned Mondragon from a space—where people can go to buy books—into a place where books are passed down. And that means that book are something that are passed down. They are something intimate, given to you by someone special, a shared experience between the two of you. An experience created by Lewisburg itself, and an experience created by Mondragon.

The modern Mondragon is not the same store as the one Charles Sackrey created and not the store that Sarajane inherited. A quick history of the space the bookstore. At first the space was a doctor’s office, the front room being the waiting room, the side room being the receptionists office, and the remaining two rooms being the examination rooms. After that, it became the headquarters for the Democratic party in Lewisburg right around the time in which Obama was running for president. After that, Charles Sackrey took over the space and created Mondragon Used Bookstore.

And now for the history of the bookstore itself. Charles Sackrey, at the time a professor at Bucknell University but later retired from teaching, opened Mondragon, naming it after the largest co-op in Spain. Sackrey taught many classes, two of which being “Classical Marxism” and “Theatre and Economics.” Charles Sackrey was known to discuss Marxist theory in depth with customers that came in. He hired his friends to work alongside him as clerks to the store. And, together, they ran the store for years to come. Until Sarajane came in and inherited the store from Charles Sackrey.

Unlike the sort of cultural adoption that took place when Charles Sackrey used the name “Mondragon” and the ideals of a socialist society to form his bookstore’s identify, the current owner, Sarajane, inherited Mondragon. Although she isn’t related to Charles Sackrey, it happened that she was available to the bookstore just as he was searching for a way to retire. His friends were all around the same age as him and therefore had no more energy or interest in actually owning the store than he did, but when he asked Sarajane, who enjoyed the store and felt she had nothing else to do at the time, she accepted the charge.

This passing-of-hands, while not normally what comes to mind with the word “inheritance,” is in line with many fictional renditions of bookselling, which push literary inheritance as a matter of culture rather than personal relationships. Lisa Morton’s short story “Blind Stamped,” for example, illustrates the way a bookseller becomes inextricably bonded to a mostly anonymous customer named Rick Herson. Although he knows nothing of the man except his name–learned from a receipt–the bookseller, Nathaniel, finds himself the sole “heir” of Rick’s book collection after he dies. So we see that literature provides more types of inheritance than the standard type written in a will. It provides, for example, the passing of a bookstore to someone with no relation to the previous owner.

Sarajane Snyder, current owner of Mondragon Books, works hard for sustainability and brings those ethics into her bookstore.

In the case of Mondragon, Sarajane’s personality and background felt in line with the bookstore’s character, and so its previous owner passed it down to her as readily as he might have passed it down to a daughter. The fact that they bear no relation obviously meant nothing to Charles Sackrey. In that moment, when it counted, they shared a deeper bond than blood. They shared a willingness to put books in new hands, passing stories and histories onto the next generations.

The store runs on used books. Their entire stock is made up of works given to the store by regulars. Some may think that this practice would lead the store to be empty or not well-rounded in it’s collection. But the store is full to the brim. Charles Sackrey gave an unkempt store to Sarajane. Sarajane fixed it all up, but the store still remains full to the brim. Benjamin made an argument on the inheritance of books and how it is the best way to create a collection. He says,

“Actually, inheritance is the soundest way of acquiring a collection. For a collector’s attitude toward his possessions stems from an owner’s feeling of responsibility toward his property. Thus it is, in the highest sense, the attitude of an heir, and the most distinguished trait of a collection will always be its transmissibility.” (Benjamin 66).

In 2009, the interior space of Mondragon was documented in low-quality YouTube video titled “Mondragon Bookstore Film.” While the title suggests videography, it appears to be a series of photos strung together to make a “film” and includes Comic Sans credits, reminiscent of the early 2000s digital space. Charles Sackrey, the original owner, is present in a few snapshots of the film, along with customers who use the space to converse and read. Snyder did not choose to continue the YouTube channel when she took over the store because this is the only video posted by Mondragon. Although that is the case, it is clear that Snyder inherited the “fiercely independent” personality of the store. In the video, certain photos were chosen to highlight the store’s core values. In one clip, there is a customer reading a book titled Idiot America. The choice in book is not accidental and demonstrates that Mondragon is a safe space to criticize politics. In another photo, there is an image of a book titled Urgent Message From Mother: Gather the Women and Save the World. This book provides a unique view that supports feminism and mirrors Snyder’s need to promote underrepresented voices. The owner said that she tries to equip the store with books written by women or by authors of color to expose readers to new ideas that are not necessarily welcomed into the hallowed shelves of corporate bookstores. Snyder inherited Sackrey’s core values for Mondragon, seen in the similarities between the book choices for the store, even though she chose to not continue the YouTube channel.

In the front hallway of the shop rests a couple of shelves filled with cheap books. These books are strategically placed outside of the main part of the store because Snyder is aware that these books are unlikely to appeal to most people. Additionally, the owner knows that people will come in during off-hours (the hallway remains unlocked) and steal books, but she is not overly concerned about it. Snyder is fully aware that the store will not be making a huge profit off of them.

Snyder’s willingness to let books go is unlike traditional means of collecting. To an extent, the bookstore is similar to a museum space because both are in the business of preserving culture. Arthur James Clifford discusses the ways in which society impacts culture in the book The Predicament of Culture: Twentieth-Century Ethnography, Literature, and Art. Most collectors try to tie in each item of a collection to a specific narrative that is not always accurate (Clifford 244-246). While she did inherit the books of Mondragon, Snyder realizes that each book does not necessarily have a home in the store. This is what allows her to let go of certain items and not hold onto something for its supposed intrinsic value.

Following the front hallway, the front room of Mondragon is the temporary home to a hodge-podge of items, all reflecting Snyder’s core beliefs about farming and being self-sufficient (Snyder). This is different than Sackrey’s version of Mondragon because Snyder rearranged the front room to fit her vision. While each book in the store is inherited to some extent, Snyder has recreated the visual placement of her inheritance to represent her beliefs in Mondragon.

Next, there is a side room that consists of books about travel, history, and economics. On their face value, most of these books seem boring, even Snyder mentioned that she wants to change this part of the store (Snyder). This room is reminiscent of Sackrey’s ideal bookstore because Snyder has not had the chance to rearrange the space to fit her values. There are two conflicting values in the bookstore that are able to live in partial harmony, or at least until Snyder finds the time to rearrange the store.

The Back Room which contains the Fiction, Poetry, Records, and a comfy red chair.

Opposite of the side room is the middle room. This area holds the most diverse categories of books with philosophy, spirituality, film, theatre, fine art, graphic novels, and culture. First glance of the room made me wonder, were these placed in the same room because Snyder found similarities between these books and/or their authors or were they randomly placed because this is the second biggest room in the store? The importance of this room is not about the inheritance of these books, but the inheritance of knowledge given from each book. These pieces of literature obtain significant lessons on current events and are sure to better one’s knowledge of the ever changing world around them.

Shockingly enough, the back hallway leading to the final room in the store is occupied with as many books as it can hold. This passageway to the final room is the most unsystematic room of all, for none of these books correlate to each other. However, Walter Benjamin wrote, “what else is this collection but a disorder to which habit has accommodated itself to such an extent that it can appear as order?” (Benjamin). There are three bookshelves: one tall, one medium and one short. Each shelf is filled to capacity with literary bios, books about baseball, humor, and literary criticism. These are four very different genres of books to place together. To add onto the randomness of the hallway, a map of the world is hung proudly on the wall facing those shelves. Snyder made sure that there are absolutely no blank walls in this store. For those who love to browse book stores will be delighted to see what Snyder has in stock.

The last room in this store is the backroom. This room consists of fiction, poetry, memoirs, fantasy, and children’s stories, along with vinyls to highlight the uniqueness of Mondragon. Additionally, there are handmade vinyl coasters for sale on the shelves that give the room a very old school feel to it. In contrast to these lively upbeat records, this room happens to be the quietest of all because it’s hidden away. It is hard to imagine many customers visiting the backroom seeing that other elements of Mondragon distract from this space. However, customers would be pleasantly surprised by the peaceful 80’s vibe the room gives off.

And now, for all those who come and go through Mondragon’s double doors, a part of the bookstore carries on. After spending a semester studying it, learning to love it, and coming to appreciate where it fits into the bigger picture of bookselling, we will hold a part of it in our hearts and pass it on, in turn, to the next.

Tiger, Mondragon’s inherited cat.

___________________

TEXTS

Benjamin, Walter. Illuminations: Essays and Reflections. Edited by Harry Zohn. Translated by Hannah Arendt, Schocken Books.

Clifford, James. The Predicament of Culture: Twentieth-century Ethnography, Literature, and Art. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1988.

Cresswell, Tim. Place: a Short Introduction. Blackwell Pub., 2009.

Morton, Lisa. “Blind Stamped.” Shelf Life, edited by Greg Ketter, Prime Books, 2002, pp. 131–145.

Sauers, Richard A. Images of America Lewisburg. Publishing, Arcadia. 2010

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INTERVIEWS

Snyder, Sarajane. Personal Interview. 22 February 2019.

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GRAPHICS

Photos courtesy of the Mondragon Group.

Photo of Sarajane Snyder courtesy of Mondragon Books Instagram.

The Right Fit: Books-A-Million Thrives in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania

With the ever changing market of the capitalistic society we have today, it can sometimes be hard to appeal to the right crowd and to maintain that attraction as time goes on and trends change. Books-A-Million, however, seems to have found the ideal place, and the right use of their products to keep up a consistent crowd, whether it’s new customers or those returning. How then, does a smaller BAM store in a failing mall along a major highway manage this?

The official Books-A-Million logo, most often referred to as BAM!

Books-A-Million started as a newspaper stand in 1917, and has been growing ever since. Just that tidbit of information about their humble beginnings tells you something about the company and the people who run it– it has never been about the books. The founder of that newspaper stand expanded to magazines and then books, following the money at the time, and then they found their place among national book retailers.

Since BAM rebranded as a major chain store in 1964, their main focus has been to find the right merchandise to sell to the right crowd (like any other corporate company). However, each store has been given the freedom to alter their cookie cutter stock and layout in minor ways that appeal more to wherever they are located. This goes against what Jack Perry says about corporate book stores, stating that chain stores has a sameness about them in both appearance and stock, but it does agree with his idea that corporate stores have a much broader stock  than independent stores.(109) Having this bookstore in the mall seems almost intimidating, as it has outlived several other stores and is now one of the major staples of the Susquehanna Valley Mall (SVM). 

The store moved to the SVM in 2011, after Books-A-Million bought store space from the bankrupted Waldenbooks. At the time, the mall was more of a bustling hub, someplace to go after school or if you needed to go shopping. Since then, many of those stores have closed, leaving only the original Boscov’s anchor and a few other stores, which are closing at an alarming rate. And yet, Books-A-Million seems to be doing just fine, holding its place in the mall like the Waldenbooks before it.

Books-A-Million in the Susquehanna Valley Mall.

According to Tim Cresswell, a place that is only interested in making money can affect the areas sense of ‘self’, or the areas identity as a whole (59). So why does this BAM store seem to be the pride of the mall and the go-to store if it should be seen as negative and identity altering? It is because they are allowed that little freedom of changing layouts and stocks to appeal to the crowd they deem the best to appeal to. How can a corporate store be scary if it is carrying some of the best sellers for high school students and some of the most engaging stories for college students that actually have free time?

Selinsgrove has been a college town since Susquehanna University was established in 1858, so a good portion of the population has been young people for more than a hundred years. Along with college students, the town is home to many young families (Claritas). Between these two demographics, the identity of Selinsgrove has become one of children and young adults. Books-A-Million has noticed this formation of identity and in the last ten years has altered their stock, floorplan, and display to draw people in from the large customer base of people aged one to twenty-five.

The neverending shelves of books to choose from at Books-A-Million in the Susquehanna Valley Mall.

Psychographic statistics also show that the Susquehanna Valley has historically been home to a lot of lower middle class to lower income families (Claritas). These families are full of people working multiple jobs, picking kids up from after school activities, and rushing home to get dinner ready, so they want a speedy and inexpensive shopping trip, or else something to keep their children occupied while they pick up a pair of shoes or an item of clothing from elsewhere in the mall. In both cases, BAM has spent the past few years engineering their store to optimize appeal to the families that frequent the SVM and who might be in need of a new bedtime book or the latest Rick Riordan book.

Books-A-Million has found the perfect medium for bringing in as much profit as they can, they adhere to trends and offer titles and other products that are appealing to the locals, and they found a location that has the most traffic for the best chance of attracting customers (the only mall for quite a while). The history of BAM growing as a store, to eventually becoming a chain bookstore and turning corporate has influenced how it views literature and how literature influences the store. The changing economy and trends has shaped it into what it is today, a store that seeks the most money possible by presenting itself as a very warm, friendly, and up to date kind of store where there is something for everyone. It may not be as sincere or friendly as independent bookstores, but to many in the area, it just works.

 

Established in 1978, the Susquehanna Valley Mall in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania offers over 50 stores and services to areas within a 45-mile radius. Located on along the side of the North Susquehanna Trail and across from a Walmart Supercenter, the mall is in a prime spot for business. The neighborhood thrums with nearly 5,500 Selinsgrove residents, and that number grows by roughly 2,266 Susquehanna University undergraduate students and any parents or relatives that may visit during the school year. With the additional bonus of a highway location, the mall gets traffic from towns including Sunbury, Lewisburg, and as far as Harrisburg.

According to the Population Demographics for Selinsgrove Borough, in 2018 and 2019 the Selinsgrove population consisted of mainly white residence of 50 years or older and college students (18-25). Though there are many well-to-do college students not represented here, low wages and low education levels could put a strain on book buying. So, you may be asking yourself, how is it that Books-A-Million is still able to draw in customers and make enough sales to stay afloat?

In Reluctant Capitalists, Laura Miller discusses how convenient it is to have a bookstore in the mall. She goes on to state that corporate chain bookstores want everyone to feel welcomed and have shifted the image of the bookstore to one that is more entertainment-based (90). Books-A-Million is in a prime location for the Selinsgrove area; the Susquehanna Valley Mall is down the road from multiple strip malls, is less than fifteen minutes away from Susquehanna University and the Selinsgrove middle and high schools, and is surrounded by a handful of restaurants (see Google Map). If this Books-A-Million were anywhere else in Selinsgrove in their own building, they would not have as many customers because people would not be simply passing by. Rather, the bulk of the customers would have to plan to make a trip into the store. Time will tell for BAM as the stores in the Susquehanna Valley keep dwindling. It seems like Books-A-Million chose the right location to appease the area.

The Susquehanna Valley Mall of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania

The customers for the surrounding shopping centers are the same audience that Books-A-Million receives as well. Compared to local independent bookstores like DJ Ernst, Mondragon, Bible Depot, and Comics Metropolis, Books-A-Million offers the individual consumer experience. While browsing around independent bookstores, customers are generally surrounded by numerous books that fall into categories they might be interested in, as many local bookstores are quite niche. A customer also may get the chance to talk to the shop owner and get insight and suggestions that are meaningful and part of the reason they love to shop for books so much. When shopping around BAM, you are browsing around a store that may only have a shelf or two of your favorite genre, and you are essentially shopping on your own. BAM provides modern shoppers with a quick, painless shopping experience akin to online retailing with stock the consumer needs and no pointless chitchat.

When you walk around BAM, you are surrounded by titles pertaining to every imaginable subject. In other words, is seems BAM does not have an identified genre. Rather, it carries titles of all subjects to draw in a wide variety of customers. After all, BAM is a corporate chain, and ultimately strives to make as many sales as possible. The sales are one of the ways that helps keep BAM afloat. The bookstore adjusted its prices to fit those of the Selinsgrove area, which is that of a middle- to lower-class income. The sales racks are near the entrance to catch the eye of a passerby and red stickers showing price cuts can be seen peeking out from shelves all around the store.

Look at all of the fun books and toys to choose from!

After seeing the changes that Selinsgrove has undergone over the past twenty years, I can remember when BAM moved into the mall. Prior to Books-A-Million, the store occupying that space was another bookstore called Waldenbooks. The Waldenbooks was also a corporate chain bookstore that was very similar to Books-A-Million. It seemed that not much changed when the ownership changed hands except for the sign out front. BAM brought in more trinket items, a slightly different layout to the same genres, and a new name. Other than that, it seemed as though there was no real changes to the space that is still standing. The culture surrounding the bookstore has not changed. The population of Selinsgrove remains around the same number and is still primarily white. Susquehanna University still plays a huge role in making the general age of the population 18-25. So, even though the culture of Selinsgrove plays a role in the fate of the bookstore, it had remained the same over the years. So, we are left with a question that can only be answered through time, will BAM withstand the test of time?

Based on Laura Miller’s study on book selling, BAM has simply found the right environment to sell books in (40). Books-A-Million also has the advantage of appealing to younger shoppers due to being up to date on the latest fads and trends. As seen on our Google Map, the Selinsgrove area Middle school and High school are less than twenty minutes away. Parents and friends bring in these young shoppers, whom may be drawn in by the decorative display of the new Harry Potter books and trinkets. This is something you probably will not find in the independent bookstores.

Considering the state of the Susquehanna Valley Mall in which Books-A-Million resides, with vendors shutting down left and right due to economic struggles, it’s a wonder that BAM still thrives under such unideal circumstances. There are plenty of other options for readers to find what they’re looking for. Selinsgrove sports Super Stores like Target and Walmart and aesthetic independents like DJ Ernst on Market Street; for the Susquehanna University students of the area, it may be easier to order a book online or visit the library rather than go to this little corporate book vendor. However, Books-A-Million has continued to thrive since its opening in 2011 and shows no signs of shutting down despite the nature of its surroundings. What makes Books-A-Million such an ideal bookstore for Selinsgrove’s readers?  

Books-A-Million’s success comes down to its unique market of readers. Let’s refer back to the demographics of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. Susquehanna University and the Selinsgrove Area School District make for quite a large population of young adults (18-30 years old) and budding families. These young students and parents are exactly who Books-A-Million and the corporate bookstore are built to accommodate. Corporate bookstores run with convenience, entertainment, and bargains in mind with mass merchandise, marked-down prices, and an array of flashy displays arranged in every chain (Miller 92). For families and students, Books-A-Million is the place to go for the books and entertainment they need cheap and fast. Not only that, but Books-A-Million easily makes the bookstore experience a family friendly event. While children immerse themselves in toys and merchandise that represent their favorite stories, teens and adults have a wide selection of best sellers, fantasy novels, and sci-fi trilogies to choose from.  

Walking around the Books-A-Million of Selinsgrove, these characteristics are absolutely apparent. This store’s stock and layout are catered to the young demographic, with young adult novels, fan merch, and children’s books brought right to the front. The store windows are filled with literature and merchandise meant for young ones while everything that doesn’t fall into these categories is pushed toward the back of the store. Even the Newstand is built to draw in young people; magazines such as Seventeen and Tiger Beat are displayed before any sort of newspapers and editorials. Take a look at this interactive floorplan to see how Books-A-Million strategically brings in Selinsgrove’s young readers and their families.

As long as Selinsgrove’s young readers have a need for literature, Books-A-Million will live on in the Susquehanna Valley Mall. Because Books-A-Million is a corporate bookstore, it can easily adjust its stock to meet the wants and needs of the population it serves, lower its prices without much consequence to their business, and use marketing tactics to attract book consumers in the area. For example, Susquehanna University college students are often in need of specific novels and textbooks for their classes. If a student isn’t able to get a needed book from their campus bookstore, the next place to look would be this Books-A-Million store. They are likely to have the exact book in store for cheaper than the original sticker price or on their website to be shipped the next day. This is an instance where going to an independent bookstore or superstore would risk not having the right book in stock or being outside of the student’s budget.

Books-A-Million has more than just books… it has all sorts of merchandise to enhance your reading experience.

It’s no surprise Books-A-Million has outlasted the other stores in the mall. The bookstore continues to appease to their target audience through convenience, deals, and overall merchandise. There is little to no doubt that the Books-A-Million in Selinsgrove is around to stay. However, there is much to debate on if they will remain in the Susquehanna Valley Mall. According to the Daily Item in 2018, a Women’s Health Care Center was rumored to take the former Sears building.

In their most recent article, the Daily Item stated, “The mall will be placed on the sheriff’s sale listing for Aug. 9.” Although August is still a few months away, there are still plenty of questions to ponder. What will happen to Books-A-Million? The chain bookstore may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s stability throughout the years proved that some people prefer coffee instead. We are left with two future outcomes: Will Books-A-Million suffer the same fate as the mall? Or would the bookstore branch off into its own building and continue to thrive in Selinsgrove?

 

 

Sources  

Books:

  • Miller, Laura J. Reluctant Capitalists: Bookselling and the Culture of Consumption. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006.

Web Sources and Periodicals: 

  • Cresswell, Tim. Place: An Introduction. Wiley-Blackwell, 2015.
  • mmoore@dailyitem.com, Marcia Moore. “Fall Start for Health Center Conversion at Former Sears Building.” The Daily Item, 29 Aug. 2018, www.dailyitem.com/news/local_news/fall-start-for-health-center-conversion-at-former-sears-building/article_ddaddc41-bfca-5b40-aba9-1c7f788a6f79.html.
  • Moore, Marcia. “UPDATE Boscov’s CEO: ‘We’re Not Going Anywhere’.” The Daily Item, 6 May 2019, www.dailyitem.com/news/update-boscov-s-ceo-we-re-not-going-anywhere/article_a6c18276-7011-11e9-a6af-c30fc4f8675f.html.
  • Perry, Jack, “Bibliophilia: Bookstores, Communist and Capitalist.” The American Scholar, vol. 55, no. 1, 1986, pp.107-111. www.jstor.org/stable/41211294.
  • “PRIZM® PREMIER Psycographic Zip Code Lookup.” Claritas, 2019. claritas360.claritas.com/mybestsegments/#zipLookup.
  • Suburbanstats.org. “Current Selinsgrove Borough, Pennsylvania Population, Demographics and Stats in 2019, 2018.” SuburbanStats.org, suburbanstats.org/population/pennsylvania/how-many-people-live-in-selinsgrove-borough.

Media: 

  • Google Maps: Susquehanna Valley Mall & surrounding attractions.
  • Timeline: The History of Books-A-Million in the Susquehanna Valley Mall
  • ThingLink: Books-A-Million Floorplan
  • Books-A-Million Logo: http://www.greentreemall.com/store/booksamillion
  • Susquehanna Valley Mall Image: http://www.wkok.com/susquehanna-valley-mall-could-be-heading-for-sheriffs-sale/
  • All other photos taken by Benjamin Adelberg and Sarah Fluke

Bible Depot Helps Them That Help Themselves

With its vibrant blue exterior, Bible Depot catches the eye of passing visitors and locals alike. Well, the paint job isn’t the most eye-catching aspect of the outside of the store, not when ‘Bible Depot” is sprawled, with large white letters, across the side of the building that faces out onto Front Street. Though, its old yellow façade might have been more intriguing to the eye but more crowded aesthetically. Its doors have been open for going on 88 years, having opened in 1931 originally on Main Street but then moving in the early 1940s to where it is now on Front Street. Sunbury is not a particularly wealthy town, with the median household income averaging around $32,000, according to the Data USA (Data USA). But the amount of businesses on the main road is telling that businesses still thrive in this area.

Another large part of Sunbury is the community of churches, there are many Christian churches, as well as other places of worship in the area surrounding the bookstore. This store, everything it has done for the community, all of it, started with little bibles handed out by the Reverend who founded the store. And then, when the WKOK-AM radio station went on the air in 1933, Reverend Ney appeared every week to advertise for the store.

Shortly after Nancy assumed ownership in 1970, pastors from the local churches came into the store and threatened to boycott Bible Depot for carrying a controversial chick tract – a short evangelical gospel tract. Nancy said she spent a lot of time debating about whether to discontinue the chick tract or to continue to sell it and after a lot of praying she decided not to carry the chick tract anymore. The store was never actually boycotted, but this is a particularly outstanding instance of discomfort between the store and the community. But this store has built a strong community, one that has grown through the hardships of area floods and local controversy. This store has become a staple within Sunbury, a true symbol representing the community of which it is a part. Bible Depot tells us a story through its history from its simple beginnings with Reverend Ney handing out Bibles door to door to Nancy’s current ownership of this treasure hunt of a store.

The store controls its own narrative by the way it is set up to appease its customers. This store has become particularly significant as it is not only a store, but a home to its owner. Bible Depot represents an inspiring tale of small business culture through how a tiny, family-run bookstore became what it is today. All the customers who enter the store are welcomed graciously and are considered to be a part of that family. One of the most important things about Bible Depot is how accepting it is of a diversity of religious backgrounds and all walks of life. It is a place that is constantly changing, not necessarily always in terms of its physical appearance, but because of the people that visit and shape the store into the place that it is and the role it plays within the Sunbury community.

 

Our experiences visiting Bible Depot gave us a lot of insight into the type of identity and mission the store is trying to project. As you walk through the store, you are fully immersed in a collection that has been carefully curated by Nancy Ney to reflect not only her personal interests, but the interests of everyone in Sunbury and the surrounding community. Tim Cresswell helps us to understand Bible Depot as it is immersed in this community not just as a space, but as a place – a meaningful location defined by its physical location, its local and its sense of place (Cresswell). Using the historical contrasting ideas of place, mentioned by Laura Miller, as reactionary and exclusionary and as open and progressive (constantly contingent and in flux) it seems that somehow, Bible Depot fits both of these descriptors.

Bible Depot functions as a gathering place – a place for anyone to congregate and commune within a “family” setting. When we look at the world as a world of places we see “attachments and connections between people and place. We see worlds of meaning and experience” (Cresswell 11). Bible Depot is an oasis in which a world of meaning and experience has been created within its walls. Nancy herself told us that Bible Depot is a place full of miracles, a place where people may not necessarily come in to buy things but might just come in to have a seat and have someone to talk to, to comfort them and to give them a coffee. She claims that it’s a people place and that “we’re here to bless others with the blessings God has given to us and when we see a need, we ask God for guidance and we pray for people and try to give them guidance.” This home-like quality of Bible Depot establishes it as not only a store where customers come to purchase things they may need or want, but as an actual “place,” a gathering, a community.

Bible Depot is greatly defined by its history, its owner, and its customers, but the one thing around which all these influences is centered is the collection housed within the store. The diversity and seemingly chaotic nature of the collection is at first a little confusing to visitors to the store. However, the more you examine the way the collection is structured, you begin to see that it is, in fact, a type of organized chaos and that everything has been carefully selected and placed exactly where it is meant to be.

To understand the store’s collection, you first have to appreciate its definition of literature. To do this, you have to have a firm grasp on the concept of self-care. There is a common misconception that self-care is a very individualized process, only applicable or usable by one person for themself. However, the term itself implies some entity taking care of itself; this could be an individual or even a community. In the case of Bible Depot, the definition of literature endorses a narrative of self-care both at the individual and the community level. Because Nancy Ney has created a collection with the interests of her community in mind, her collection acts as self-care for that entire community. We can see this literature of self-care on the individual level through the books in the “main” book room, housing books on divorce, prayer, counseling, etc. Yet on the other side of the store, there is a room we frequently call the “children’s room,” containing anything from posters and board games to Sunday school supplies, activity books, sheet music, stickers, and more. It seems, at first, difficult to fit this room into the store’s literature as defined by self-care. However, this seems to be a room that subscribes more to the idea of community self-care. This room provides customers with ways to better their community either through music, through fellowship and games, or through sharing religion with children. Furthermore, in the front room in which the cash register sits, there are many display cases of jewelry and other trinkets of either something symbolically religious or engraved with a scripture verse. These, too, fit into the narrative of self-care as those who purchase these items are seeking to carry a piece of reassurance and hope with them, close to their hearts wherever they go.

It is true that Bible Depot is filled with many “things,” but these things are more than just mere objects lined up along shelves. In the fifth installment of the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, a group of Hogwarts students, who lovingly call themselves Dumbledore’s Army, come across a room known as the “Room of Requirement.” This room somehow knows what its visitors need and upon entering the room, anything and everything someone needs is readily available within its stone walls. Sometimes more than one person may need the same thing and the room will adapt to those needs. All one has to do to make the room appear is walk past the section of blank wall three times concentrating very deeply on what they need. Bible Depot is, in a way, a Room of Requirement for the Susquehanna Valley community. Because the store provides self-help to both the individual and the community it holds anything and everything someone might neeed and specifically holds the things that people may not even know they need, but should have, whether that’s children or adults. It’s like a scavenger hunt resource room just waiting to be discovered by those who need it.

It is very difficult to walk into Bible Depot and not immediately feel imbued with the spirit and attitude with which the store is so heavily infused. While visitors to the store are, yes, surrounded by objects, they are also surrounded by “things.” Bruno Latour tells us that when we have little investment in something we are more likely to view things as mere objects and not as these multidimensional “things.” Though all the objects in the store have a monetary value assigned to them, they also have an inherent spiritual and personal value. Nancy Ney views all the objects in her store as “things” and has ascribed so much meaning and attachment to each thing that this kind of connection is therefore encouraged in every customer who walks through her doors. The contents of the store, as well as the store itself, are not mere tools, but are necessarily things that can provide fulfillment, enrichment, and meaning to our lives.

In Philipp Bloom’s book To Have and to Hold, he explains that “by surrounding ourselves with objects we hope to immerse ourselves in what is represented by them, with what they represent to us who are unwilling to accept that it will always remain elusive and cannot be locked into things” (Bloom 156). Here we see that Bloom has a bit of a different definition of “things” from Latour, one that probably aligns more closely to Latour’s conception of objects. However, Bloom’s idea is still valid. It is often not easy to distill the meaning of objects and therefore we must make the conscious effort to immerse ourselves in what is represented by them. Likewise, we must also examine what these objects represent to us though these representations may sometimes seem elusive and difficult to decipher.

This idea very much reflects our experience getting to know Bible Depot. At first it was exceedingly difficult to understand the meaning or purpose of any of the objects individually and consequently the message of the store and everything it stands for. But to find the answer, one need look no further than the heart of the store itself – the Bible Room. This room is the most important “place” in the store and is also home to the most important ”thing” in the store. The Bible Room is quite literally the heart of the bookstore situated just between Nancy’s home and the store around it. It is representative of the origins of Bible Depot and all the history that has accompanied it, as well as being the store’s namesake. When we consider all the ways in which Bible Depot is a gathering, a collection of “things” and a place in which literature is understood as a self-conscious narrative of self-care and reflection for the individual and the community, we can see that this small blue house on nestled along the Susquehanna River is much more than a store or resource. It is an oasis, a home, an idyllic escape and refuge for all who wish for or require it.

 

 

 Citations 

Text 

Benjamin, Walter. “Unpacking My Library.” Illuminations, edited by Hannah Ardent, Schocken Books, pp. 59–67. 

Bloom, Philipp. To Have and To Hold. Harry N. Abrams, 2004. 

Delaney, Carol. “Spatial Locations.” Investigating Culture, John Wiley & Sons, 2011, pp. 37–67 

Latour, Bruno. “Why Has Critique Run Out of Steam? From Matters of Fact to Matters of Concerns.” JSTOR, The University of Chicago Press, May 2004, www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/421123?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents. 

Miller, Peter. “The Chronicle Review.” How Objects Speak, 10 Sept. 2014, s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/blackboard.learn.xythos.prod/57a9d55a4370f/585932?response-content-disposition=inline; filename*=UTF-8”How Objects Speak – The Chronicle Review – The Chronicle of Higher Education.pdf&response-content-type=application/pdf&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20190501T184226Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=21600&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAIL7WQYDOOHAZJGWQ/20190501/us-east-1/s3/aws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=7b820ab50c309fb3a0250aac3974fb25cf3902ca4168533d961c5f7e262fe5a4. 

Rowling, J.K. Order of the Phoneix. Bloomsbury Publisher, 1997. 

Online  

Data USA “Employment by Industries” chart. https://datausa.io/profile/geo/sunbury-pa/ 

“Google Maps.” Google Maps. Google, n.d. Web. 1 May 2019, http://maps.google.com/. 

“Time Graphics.” Time Graphic. Time.Grapjic, n.d. Web. 1 May 2019, https://time.graphics/line/234320 

Thinglink,” Thinglink.com. Web. 1 May 2019 

Pictures 

Bucci, John. Bible DepotSunbury, Pennsylvania

Chobanoff, Anna. Bible Depot, 1 May 2019, Sunbury, Pennsylvania

WKOK Radio Station. <http://www.eagle107.com/Eagle_107/107_Station_History.htm>

Collectors & Comics

You start strolling down the street and notice people walking, talking, and even some children playing. As you look around you notice the houses and buildings are Victorian-era styled with dormers, towers, and decorative railings. Lewisburg does not want to change for a new age look; the people would much rather preserve the history.

On the right-hand side is the First National Bank, a structure with stone arches above the second floor windows. You keep walking and turn right onto 3rd Street at the end of the block. Looking down the street, there are many enticing structures. A small stone structure from 1869 is labeled ‘Lewisburg Opera House’;

it burned to the ground in 1908. The collection of bricks is all that still remains. A little further down the road is the Beaver Memorial United Methodist Church, which is a large pointed structure, almost like a needle coming out of the ground. The street also has a little post with a box on it, which is filled with books. It’s a great opportunity to pick one up and read it, or even just leave a book for others to enjoy.

You can also see people reading a poem off a board that’s part of the historical Bucknell Poetry Path. This is one of the ten poems along the scenic route through Lewisburg. As you continue walking down 3rd Street, you stop and turn for moment.

Comics Metropolis

Standing on the sidewalk looking across the street, you see a white house. It looks like it fits in with the rest of the homes in Lewisburg, but you notice a small sign perpendicular to the front and cross the street to get a closer look. It is mostly white, matching the house it is attached to and reads: “Comics Metropolis.” What kind of comic book shop could be inside a home?
Turning the knob of the front door, you step through two doorways, then find yourself in a foyer with the ability to go left or right. Say you wander to the left side of the house first.

https://www.thinglink.com/scene/1167315841511849985

There are miniature figurines gracing the windowsills and shelvetops with sizes ranging from a baby carrot to as large as your torso.

Comics Galore!

Moving further into this half of the store, you see another room in the back. It’ divided into different segments of board games, small kits, individual primed minifigures, paints to finish said figures, and multitudes of instructional manuals and how-to books. With all those kits and paints and how-to’s, this room feels like a lab where one would start a journey of creating something wonderful.

Leaving the room, you go back through the minifigures, then the foyer, to find yourself in the other half of the store. On an island are comics galore. It’s fully stocked and takes up most of the space in the room. It’s organized alphabetically by title, those written in 2000 to the present up top and 1999 or prior in pull-out drawers.

The island is bordered on two sides by shelves full of books towering to the ceiling, and turning the corner around the back of the island you find a door to yet another room. Curiously, there is a group of people around a large table when the rest of the store is virtually devoid of people minus the owners. Filled with sunlight, the room might be spacious if it weren’t for the table. One man greets you at the door and asks how you’re doing.

“Good,” you reply, “What game is this?”

Star Wars X-Wing

It’s Star Wars X-Wing, and their group plays here every Saturday morning. This room is where people gather, much like the dining room it used to be as part of the original house, whether to play organized games or to start interacting with whatever new purchase a customer has made.

Turning back to the shop, you see a fireplace, complete with collectibles adorning the mantle, much like the centerpiece in some of the homes you’ve been a guest in over the years. The fireplace as a focal point isn’t a new concept, as another lover of literature “converted a former laundry into a one-room English-language bookshop and lending library, whose centerpiece was the laundry’s old fireplace” back in 1919 in Paris, France (Buzbee 152). This fireplace has a sort of grand old look to it, fitting with the rest of the house.

Moving to the right to complete the circle, at the front edge of the store sits a counter, complete with all the supplies needed to run a comic book business, including a computer. Though it had once been a living room, now you see this bit resembling something closer to an office with the front workspace and all the neat filing done up in alphabetical order. It’s no surprise that Laura and Albert spend a significant amount of time here.

In fact, Laura spends plenty of time in the shop because she lives upstairs. Returning to the main foyer, you see the stairs leading up to the rest of the house. Laura thinks of the house’s history and the people who must have lived here years ago every time she walks up those stairs. Based on the layout upstairs, one room must have been for a servant, and there are various call buttons and a back staircase that support this theory, so the family was probably well-off.

The house itself was originally built in 1850 and a butternut tree stands strong in the backyard, over a hundred years old. Laura has become fond of the tree and named her “Victoria” for the era the tree and house came to exist in. Leaving the store and crossing the street, you see a pillar. Left over from the Lewisburg Opera House, built in 1869 but burned to the ground in 1908, it is yet another reminder of the strong history of the town and the stories behind what it is today.

Turning back to face Comics Metropolis, you realize there truly is an emphasis on the story of comics much as Lewisburg emphasizes its own story. Comics, like buildings, aren’t a stand-alone product, but as a form of literature, they bring other worlds to life and each reader has a personal connection with the fantasy. Though the two halves of the store are distinctly separate in terms of their stock, there is so much crossover as the left side truly allows the comic content to jump off the page and into our homes more than any other type of literature.

You’re interested in everything you’ve seen and learned so far, especially the fact that Laura lives upstairs and is pretty much on-site all the time. You decide to ask her how she got around to opening this bookstore.

Novel Collection

Laura has 4 degrees in English. She changed her emphasis a little while later to Religious Education (RE), then went to London for a little while, where she taught from ages 11-18/19. In all of the classes Laura taught, roleplaying was present, whether it was RE or English. The students either had a familiarity with a certain religion, as well as comic book characters.

Albert had been collecting comic books since he was 12, which partially inspired him to start an online business where he was selling collectibles like Magic the Gathering trading cards. In order to sell new comics though, there was only one distributor, Diamond, and their only condition was for a brick and mortar.

Albert starting looking around at places, many of which were unacceptable. One was a barber shop that reeked of smoke, a location with conditions that would have never been able to hold their products. The building they currently have went up on the market a few weeks later and while still in London, Albert called her up and said it had potential, which held weight because of all the awful places he’d seen thus far. Laura looked through 60-some photos so she could see it, how it had possibilities, and bought it before she saw it in person.

“Why Lewisburg?” you ask her.

She tells you it’s all Albert and his brother knew, they were born here. They felt comfortable in a place that was home to them, that they grew up in, and they thought it was a good location for customers.

It’s a university town and it’s full of readers and elderly. They also have graphic novels, which gathers a lot of attention. Not only that, but they’re willing to diversify, to start stocking things they once refused to or thought they never would. Lots of people came in, requesting things they already knew they wanted, or new titles they were eager to start collecting. Lots of people came in who had lost their comics through fires, floods, mothers who got rid of them. People who want to recapture their past.

They opened the store Labor Day 2016 and though their timeline is short, it is meaningful to both them and comics. Six months prior to opening, Comics Metropolis hung their sign. It was designed by Middle Creek Signs who had never made a 3-dimensional sign before. Comics Metropolis’s signs was one that wasn’t flat, which made it stand out and call out to passerby. The store also needed to

Sign of Comics Metropolis
Comics Metropolis Sign

tal renovation, including specialized cabinets made for the comics they sold.

What’s inside the store is what draws people in. It can be a fireplace with collectibles on top of it, a Transformers collectible you’ve been waiting to purchase, or a copy of a comic you’ve been dying to get for ages. In The Sunwise Turn, customers were drawn into the store by the colors inside the store: “Orange is said to be the selling color, and so our walls were a burning orange, with all the other colors of the palette he made for us, woven through and up and down the windows and woodwork and floor. It was a ‘pot of paint flung into the face of the public,’ and the smiling little place made an immediate sensation” (Jenison 17-18). Comics Metropolis has its own way of being a sensation: its structure and homey-atmosphere. It’s a homelike place for the collector to come buy a new addition to their collection, a gaming center for roleplayers, or a bookstore open to find something new to read.

You ask Albert what advice he has on collecting. Then, he says, “Collect what you enjoy.”

To Laura, comics are intensely personal to both the author and the collector. When asked for her take on comics as literature, she had this to say: “Some of the best comic writers are ones who are able to exercise a lot of creativity in the way in which they structure their stories. … Sometimes [comics] start at the end and work their way backward. Within structure is where you really see the power of good writing come forth if you can be creative in a certain framework.” Comics offer more as a form than novels do, as they are able to combine the written word with bountiful illustrations, and those illustrations are bound to be personal, incorporating the artist’s own relationship with the characters they are drawing into the art itself.

Literature as Art

But it goes beyond that, still. Comics push the personal relationship between collector and collectable far past the bounds established by classic novel forms. Comics offer a physical look at the characters they are about, the worlds they are about, and then take those characters and replicate them in the real world as 3D models that you can collect, play with, manipulate, build your own narratives through. Comics extend off the page into the realm of action figures, board games, video games.

Throughout their history, comics have held a contentious place within the realm of literature. It is, in fact, one of the great literary arguments of the modern day: do comics offer enough to be considered in the realm of literature along works by such greats as Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, and Jane Austen? There are certainly examples of comics with great social, cultural, and artistic impact: Maus by Art Spiegelman, for example, a graphic novel wielding powerful metaphor in its narrative detailing the harrowing experiences living as a Jew in Nazi Germany and the aftermath of the second World War.

Most—if not all—of the works we, as society, considered ‘great’ literature, or even just literature in its basest form, allow for some deeper personal connection with the story. Comics, too, offer a personal connection between readers and the written work, perhaps pushing this connection a step further outside of the bounds of the page. Comics Metropolis serves as a prime example of this.

As discussed previously, Comics Metropolis houses a large collection of comics paraphernalia. Comics do more than just function literarily as written stories. Comics, and the universes their writers and artists build, are unique for how far off the page those universes extend. Just take a look around the store in question: it’s a veritable treasure trove of all the different ways comics extend the definition of literature to encompass so much more than just the page.

Comics Metropolis was founded on the personal. We’ve seen how Albert and Laura Payne took their love of comics, and the different ways they were led to interact with them, and crafted that love into a physical place, a space packed full of personality and personal connections. If literature strives to forge deep personal connections between a reader and characters, then Comics Metropolis is a prime example of just how this is done, well exceeding the expectations and examples put forth by literary predecessors and even other bookstores.

Many comic book collections began with a few coins in the pocket of a kid, allowance or loose change scooped up from the street. Comics were affordable and entertaining, and like any good story, offered (and still do offer) an escape from the realities of the real world. Coming to prominence in the late 1930’s and rising ever higher in the ‘40’s, comics showed heroes doing the things Americans dreamed of; punching Hitler in the face, facing off against and beating insurmountable Nazi odds, and returning home victorious and lauded.

Discounted Books by Jacob Tashoff
Close-Up of Discounted Comics

           Comics offered, and continue to offer, an escape from the real world by superimposing exciting adventures over that same real world and allowing people to imagine themselves surrounded by heroes like Superman, Batman, and Spiderman. Because comics offer a dramatic reimagining (with images, no less) of the world that people are intimately familiar with, it allows readers to draw personal connections to the cities they live in that they get to experience heroes saving.

While it’s true that literature has always been a concept employed in the realm of books, comics have pushed boundaries throughout their frenzied existence. They offer more than classic literature can, because they make it possible to extend the definition of literature outside the page, to a whole host of other objects. Comics and collectibles are all about the personal, and if that’s what makes literature literature, than comics have exceeded this definition exponentially in a way no old white American man from the south probably ever thought was possible.

https://www.mhpbooks.com/watchmen-is-so-iconic-it-doesnt-need-a-title/

People collect things for a multiple reasons: to store cherished memories, enjoy a fun hobby, reduce anxiety or simply to showcase their belongings. The psychology of collecting is simple, and can be rephrased upon looking at Clifford’s “On Collecting Art and Culture”. This is where the study of anthropology aids the analysis of the collector, collection, and further in this case: literature.

According to Richard Handler, collections are “cultural property” because they encompass “arbitrary systems of value and meaning” that would usually be organized around one niche. In the case of Comic’s Metropolis, it’s comics; amongst comics related things. The store is based around the consumer’s collection as much as what the owner’s want as well. They purchase the stock, but items that consumer’s demand get added to the collection regardless of their place amongst everything else.

As with anything in nature, the object in question is always subject to outside variables that mold and change its contents. To put this into perspective, the bookstore is located in Lewisburg, PA, a Victorian town that requires eloquence, class, and cleanliness to get business. The next variable is the age and occupation bracket: a rather young and progressive college-town makes Data USA’s median age of 24.2 easily believable. The largest occupation demographic is education, training, and library occupations with 526 people out of a 1033 person census. This backs the success of the store, however it’s interesting that in a town with so many folks that work in libraries, the bookstore still makes a profit.

Nevertheless, maybe this has a greater and deeper connection to the lack of specified and careful appropriation of stock in a library versus the specialty of a bookstore. Speaking of specialty, that’s the magic of Comics Metropolis. They thrive off of being like none other, they are a niche market; unable to duplicated or bootlegged because the shop’s success is an extension of its specificity and premier condition.

 

Sources:

Clifford. “On Collecting Art and Culture”. Collections. Accessed 2019.

Jenison, Madge. Sunwise Turn: a Human Comedy of Bookselling. Booksellers House, 1993.

“Lewisburg, PA.” Data USA. https://datausa.io/profile/geo/lewisburg-pa/. Accessed 2019.

“Literature | Definition of Literature in English by Oxford Dictionaries.” Oxford Dictionaries |

English, Oxford Dictionaries, en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/literature.

“The Poetry Path.” Jean Valentine | Poetry Path Site 4 | Stadler Center for Poetry & Literary Arts

| Bucknell University, www.bucknell.edu/info-about-attending-bucknell/academics-at-bucknell/academic-centers-and-institutes/stadler-center-for-poetry-and-literary-arts/poetry-path/poetry-path-poems-and-poets/site-4-churches.html.

 

The Qualifications of “Classic” Literature in D.J. Ernst Used and Rare Books

D.J. Ernst, an independent bookstore located on Market Street in Selinsgrove.

In Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, nestled on North Market Street, sits a bookstore that’s been serving its community for 44 years. In its display windows, used books surround electric candles, inviting passersby to peer in and, just maybe, walk amongst the books that line the shelves within. Hanging beside the receding door is a wooden, weather-worn sign, welcoming potential customers with the name of the bookstore: DJ Ernst Books, Used & Rare.

Donald J. Ernst—known to the students and faculty of the nearby Susquehanna University as “Homer”—has owned and operated the single-room store since he was a college student in the 1970s. Looking around the space, there’s an ever-present sense that this is a place in which time stands still, and the once-forgotten is given a spotlight. From the cloth-bound collections to the vintage orange-crate shelves to the old cash register that came with the store, DJ Ernst proudly shows its age and revels in its history.

Age, history, and a “classic” status are important features in the types of literature Ernst keep in his store. With the books being used or rare copies, it’s clear that many of these books have histories we can only begin to imagine. For DJ Ernst, literature is made up of well-written classics that both reflect Homer’s personal taste and the tastes of the communities he serves.

The Past

Donald J. Ernst (A.K.A. Homer)

The bookstore was first established on February 1st, 1975. Ernst’s father had always had a passion for literature as he enjoyed collecting and reselling books out of his house. He passed down this joy to his son as they began to bond over literature in the ’60s. As their passion grew, Ernst’s father decided to open the very store that still stands today and is now owned by his son.

In the text “A Global Sense of Place,” Tim Cresswell reiterates Massey’s definition of place as, “[a] site of multiple identities and histories” (72). From what was previously a women’s shoe store, to what is now known as DJ Ernst Books, it is safe to say this particular building has been filled with multiple identities and histories. To add to this, along with the building, Ernst was also left with an antique cash register that is still there today.

The contents of the store are in a way a part of a time capsule, one formed when Market Street started to slow down. Preserving “Old Selinsgrove” became the store’s aesthetic. The memorabilia hanging on the walls–the postcards, the pictures of his family, the articles cut outs from newspapers about his store, the multiple maps of Pennsylvania–are points in his timeline that makes up Ernst’s time as a bookseller. The antique cash register is a tribute to a time when Market Street was busy, before the mall was built on 11/15. It is one of the oldest stores on Market Street and it proudly shows.

One of Ernst’s many interests is used, rare books, and he’s not alone. Antique books are some of the staples of the store. Throughout the years he has managed to find a signed copy of a Robert Frost book, as well as a signed Walt Whitman Leaves of Grass. These old books help define what literature is in Homer’s definition.  To further explain what his definition of literature is, it is well-written classics and antique books that both reflect his personal taste as well as the tastes of those within the community. Ernst says he stocks books that he believes are interesting and are worth passing the knowledge on to others or are books everyone should read at least once in their life. I can agree with that.

A copy of Bookman’s Weekly Magazine, the publication Ernst and his father used to use to buy and sell used and rare books across the country.

While other stores in Market Street have struggled to stay open through the years, DJ Ernst has persisted. The store has expanded by creating an online presence. In the early 2000s when he joined Biblio and Abebooks, it allowed him to accept credit cards and to sell worldwide. He also created a Facebook page, where he posts books that he finds and updates his customers on what he has in stock. However, he never added a credit card scanner to the physical store. It was not part of the environment he wanted to have. Homer wants to keep the good parts of the history in his store and allow customers to experience it by purchasing the classics that he has for sale.

The Bookstore

The structure of the store is a clear layout of self-identity embodying a living and breathing time capsule of classics. Looking into this time capsule is a large “timeline” of Ernst finding out who he was, but also learning what has molded his experience into the bookseller that he is today.

Ernst’s store embeds various versions of his history through the structure and layout he provides within the store. At first glance you see a giant, awkwardly shaped display of books smack in the middle of the store. This shelf is made up of small and tall shelves, a table, and a couple of random wooden pieces placed nicely together. This system holds a variation of books that are displayed either facing you when you first walk in, spine out, or even the cover facing up. It is not the type of shelving you would see at a chain bookstore since they would display their books in rows and columns of straightforward shelving, but there is true character behind this funky shape that makes his system so attractive. It is almost as if each piece was put there at a different time in his life, expanding the ability to display his collection of books.

This giant mix-matched shelving is shifted a little to the left when you walk in. Peering through the right-side window enables the customer to face Ernst as he sits at his front counter.  As an assumption, Ernst was probably trying to find the best way to display the most amount of books that he had, so his system of this awkward shelving worked for him and his store. Ernst cleverly placed the shelving in the center forming a pathway around the perimeter of his store, which directs the overall traffic throughout the building. This is a creative way to keep the viewer intrigued and their eyes constantly active, making it easier for a consumer to get “lost” within the store. Regardless of if the customer was to start their journey on the right or left side of the store they always walked around the entire perimeter either once, or multiple times.

Most books are placed on the shelves, but there are also three rows of books stacked on the floor, spine up, and in front of the shelves filling the perimeter of the store. Whether you look up to the ceiling, or down to your feet the place is completely covered in books. Ernst talks about not really knowing how to be a bookseller when he started out and this experience stemming from a passion that he shared with his father. You can tell by the setup of the store that Ernst doesn’t look into the nit-picky details of how to organize the business; it is merely groomed out of that hobby that he formed the store from.

A few of the shelves that make up the History section in DJ Ernst, along with the fiction books on the floor.

Ernst mentioned how he is a “specialist in early Pennsylvania history and local history,” which is not apparent until truly digging into the identity of the store.  You can tell that he is proud of the accomplishments through the various newspapers and articles hanging around the room. Whether it is a shout out from the town’s newspaper, or him and his father inside the store, every moment has been captured and hung up. You can tell that Ernst holds things close to him through the way he has structured his store and his layout.

The chair that faces Ernst’s front counter.

An example of such would be how Ernst has placed the chair facing the front counter that he sits behind. He mentions that individuals from the Selinsgrove community always come in and sit on the worn-out rocking chair with a colorful knitted blanket to talk for hours. It could range from talking about Philosophy to WWII and even for some, a trip after the bar for a “how are you” conversation. And most times these community members leave his store empty-handed, but the openness that Ernst gives for a conversation and a place to sit back and relax makes the community feel welcome. He never passes on the opportunity to learn new things as he helps his customer’s branch out on topics that they are interested in. When thinking about this generation, it is known for basing basic communication skills off of technology whether it is texting or even email. Ernst holds onto the past when facing the chair towards his desk only forcing this “abnormal” form of communication to occur. Whether it is the structure of his store or the things that embedded within it, the history is apparent, and it is not going away as long as Ernst is there.

Within DJ Ernst Books, the collections of books themselves are perfectly indicative of the bookseller and

Just one of the many books Ernst keeps in his bookstore.

the community surrounding him. DJ Ernst Books is clearly not a typical bookstore, at least, not in the way modern consumers understand them to be in the world of corporate stores and standardized inventories. In true fashion of the personal bookstore, Homer doesn’t refer to popular bestsellers lists to stock his shelves. His collections differ greatly from the standardized models of corporate bookstores and his inventory is not motivated by profit or marketability. Personal bookstores almost always differ from corporate ones in this sense, as seen in Reluctant Capitalists by Laura J. Miller. Like many other personal bookstores, DJ Ernst Books is, instead, purely a reflection of the owner’s taste, interests, preferences, and distinct definitions of literature.

Those distinct definitions, however, can be difficult to discern with the way the collection is organized throughout. DJ Ernst has subgenres and niche categories galore, all fit in tightly with each other in this small space. If the collection is supposed to reflect the bookseller’s tastes in literature, the only thing that becomes clear upon entering is that DJ Ernst loves to read as many books as he can. Children’s Illustration Books are next to Ancient History, books on music are near books on war, and on the other side of the store, there are hunting books next to American Literature, as well as reports of historical explorations next to World Literature. Many people are so used to walking into a bookstore and finding nothing but modern bestsellers and the most popular books hot off the presses. DJ Ernst Books, however, overflows with books from a wide array of genres, time periods, and aesthetics.

The other thing that becomes immediately clear is that Homer has a deep respect for the book itself as a material. While there is an almost overwhelming number of subgenres, all of them are clearly defined in handwritten labels, and many other labels pasted throughout the space are handwritten warnings to treat the books with great care, as if they were made of glass. It’s clear that Homer values the book as a special kind of object, which is also evident in the aesthetics of the books he chooses to place on high, important pedestals and shelves. There are antique, leather-bound books, and more rare and ornate tomes presented in high places, in the center display for people to admire, or even in the back shelves away from customer’s hands. However, on the other hand, the simple paperbacks are lined up in rows on the floors in front of most of the bookcases.

Most notably is the sheer number of historical genres, especially on the left side of the store. From history books on the wars big and small, to Pennsylvanian history, and even a section just labeled “Europe,” it is clear that the past and knowledge are immensely important to Homer. This is clear in almost everything about this personal bookstore, such as the unchanged interior design and the ancient cash register on the counter. He has even kept a magazine from decades before where regional collectors and booksellers such as himself could keep in touch and share product, despite the magazine being obsolete now and many of those contacts outdated. This is why the bookstore isn’t categorized with genres like fantasy, science fiction, romance, or self-help. Homer isn’t interested in these kinds of books, and he doesn’t tend to stock them unless they stand out to him or he knows one of the regular customers might be interested. Instead, the definition of literature presented in this bookstore’s collection reflects the classics and the unique, especially if they are reminiscent of an older era.

Beside the door are books on hunting, fishing, and wildlife, all of which relate to the area’s interest in hunting.

In addition to the bookstore’s personal taste, Homer attributes a lot of his inventory to other people in the surrounding Selinsgrove area and many of his contacts who are collectors. DJ Ernst Books isn’t solely a reflection of the bookseller’s personal taste but also a reflection of the community it is so ingrained in. For example, if this was just a personal bookstore, there wouldn’t be any sci-fi paperbacks, seeing as how Homer doesn’t like the genre. This also explains the hunting books, the books about fishing and nature, as well as books written by faculty from the creative writing department at Susquehanna University. Ultimately, DJ Ernst Books is a personal bookstore whose collection reflects the personal taste and identity of the bookseller, just as people are products of their communities.

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The Present

While the number of independent bookstores is on the decline, one that still remains today on Market Street is DJ Ernst Books.

A view of DJ Ernst from Market Street.

At D.J. Ernst Books, people don’t come just for the books, they visit for the conversations with Homer. Also, people visit for the unique and personalized experience that only an independent bookstore can create. In his book The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop, Lewis Buzbee reflects on this idea. Buzbee explains, “My excitement at being in a bookstore comes from the place itself, the understanding that I can stay here for as long as need be” (4). Unlike other book merchants eager to make a sale, Homer doesn’t rush his customers. People are free to browse until the store closes. Buzbee as a bookseller reminds me of Homer, as both gravitate towards old paperbacks, talk freely with their customers, and create a helpful atmosphere in the store. When Buzbee talks about the “excitement” of the bookstore coming from the sense of place, Homer’s bookstore fits this description. The “excitement” of Homer’s bookstore is the atmosphere the store creates, a sense of home. It’s the comfortable and relaxed atmosphere of an independent bookstore that makes it feel homey.

When looking back on how Homer defines literature, Buzbee touched on another concept. His definition of good literature can be summed up in this quote: “I fall into these worlds again, not as much for the enchantment, but for the familiarity” (35). Homer believes that literature is defined as classic books, the “familiarity” stories that many generations have read. Similar to Buzbee, Homer believes in the power of the familiar, that these old books have a reason for maintaining their celebrated status. Homer has built his business around the classic paperback favorites that keep customers engaged with the store, the books that are the most “familiar.”

Another bookseller that reminds me of Homer is Kathleen in the film You’ve Got Mail (1998). Kathleen runs an independent bookstore and she knows all her customers by name. Although her store in the film appears nothing like Homer’s décor, they both appeal to a local audience. Kathleen runs a children’s bookstore and recommends her favorite books to her customers. Homer runs an independent bookstore that’s frequented by mainly college students and retired residents of Susquehanna. What makes these two booksellers similar is their passion for good literature, the quality content between the covers.

A more specific example of what Homer defines as literature is his selection of John Steinbeck novels. Homer himself has been recently discovering Steinbeck’s works. He stocks them now because he’s reading all the works and discussing them with customers. Buzbee commented on Steinbeck by writing that “John Steinbeck has always been a controversial writer. More of his works have been banned than those of nearly any other American writer in the last sixty years” (42). It’s this attention, this acknowledgment that Steinbeck’s books have been read by so many, that Buzbee uses to define the work as literature. Homer doesn’t care whether Steinbeck is “controversial” or not, because he enjoys the books and the response they receive from customers. Since people of all ages and generations have read Steinbeck and enjoyed his work, it is good literature to Homer. Homer defines good literature by how his customers respond to the work in question, his opinions on it, and the impact the book has had on the world. It’s the relaxed atmosphere, the familiar books, and the excellent customer service that makes Homer’s store so special to locals.

Conclusion

What makes a book or a type of literature a “classic” is highly personal. At DJ Ernst, that personal understanding of classic literature–old, rare, and well-written–mixes with the wants and needs of Selinsgrove residents, Susquehanna students and faculty, and the people of Snyder County. This store’s stock, then, creates a beautiful union between the past and the present that can stand the test of time.

Sources

Film:

Ephron, Nora, et al. You’ve Got Mail. Warner Bros., 1998.

Graphics:

Floor plan by Erin Reid, created via ThingLink

Map by Monet Polny, created via Google

Photos by Erin Reid, Valerie Erickson, Monet Polny, Laurel Jakucs, Ty Bricker, and Eneida Giboyeaux

“DJ Ernst.” New Timeline – Timeline, time.graphics/line/234048.

Text:

Buzbee, Lewis. The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop A Memoir, A History. Graywolf Press, 2008.

Cresswell, Tim. “Place: A Short Introduction” A Global Sense of Place. Off Our Backs: pg. 72. Print

Miller, Laura J. Reluctant Capitalists Bookselling and the Culture of Consumption. University of Chicago Press, 2014.