Library Express Bookstore: Comfort and Accessibility in the Midst of the Industrial

While Scranton, PA may not fit the pop culture image of an industrial town as brimming with grease-stained pipes and belching smokestacks, it nevertheless conveys an atmosphere of modern industrialism present in its architecture and history. From its tall, box-ish buildings crossed with classic mainstreet architecture to its wide streets and concrete sidewalks, the city seems to ooze that fast-paced, no-frills industrial mindset. The town’s slogan itself—Scranton, “the electric city!”—is a reference to Scranton’s history as the first urban center in the nation to use electric streetcars, and the town still widely promotes this moniker despite the city’s shift towards a more streamlined, new-age type of industrialism.

Pressed between the Steamtown National Historic Site, a present-day railroad crossing, and places like Cosmic Cinema and the Electric City Easy Park Garage, the Marketplace at Steamtown (the local shopping mall), greatly contributes to this narrative of past and future industrialism with its large windows and domineering front. Despite its imposing appearance, however, the Marketplace at Steamtown is a surprisingly healthy shopping mall in that it boasts remarkably few empty spaces in our post-pandemic economy, and its light, community-focused interior almost directly belies the somber emphasis on industrialism just outside.

Located on the second floor is the unique literary space, Library Express Bookstore. As a hybrid space, Library Express functions both as a branch of the Lackawanna County Library System, loaning books and materials to members of the community, and as a mainstream seller of new and used books. The storefront is all oak paneling, with large, bright windows dressed up according to the time of year, and wide, open doors that call you to walk in whenever you stroll by. The familiar store design and cozy exterior creates a warm, comfortable atmosphere and a strong sense of community amid the industrial setting of the surrounding neighborhoods. Library Express Bookstore successfully wraps up all the sweet nostalgia of childhood library visits and afternoons among the oak ladders and bright colors in the Barnes and Noble children’s section, and transforms them into something welcoming and accessible for people of all life stages. The words that spring to mind when I see the exterior are “inviting,” “comforting,” and “fun.” It’s a place that shelters and enriches, encouraging you to peruse the tidy library shelves as well as the curated collection of new and used books for sale.

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. Other businesses nearby include Phyl Your Bags, a co-op of local artisans; What the Wick, handmade candles; Scranton Shakes, an modern Shakespeare theatre company; a plethora of restaurants ranging from American pizza to authentic Vietnamese; multiple businesses focused on health and fitness, such as the Academy of Asian Martial Arts and Crunch Fitness, and a variety of municipal buildings and services all within close walking distance. The Marketplace at Steamtown also hosts the Scranton Public Market seven days a week, just a few doors down from Library Express’s comforting facade (see the complete directory here).

According to the Census Bureau, the city of Scranton is predominantly White (~66.9%), with the next highest demographic being Hispanic (15.3%), then individuals of two or more races (7.7%), and finally, Black/African American and Asian, nearly tied (at 5.4% and 4.8%, respectively). It has an aging population with approximately 33% above the age of 65 and just 15% at 25 or younger. Yet, the most staggering illustration of Library Express’s neighborhood is that nearly 35% of households have an income below $15K a year, with a total of approximately 65% earning less than $35K a year. The poverty line in PA for a single-person household is just $29,160.

Cresswell defines locale as “the material setting for social relations” (7), and Scranton’s industrial exterior provides a clear picture of what that looks like in this community. Library Express serves a crucial need in the area by providing a space to buy books as well as access to library services and book borrowing, free of charge. Considering the economic stresses, is it any wonder that Scranton has collected such an array of artistic and community-focused businesses within the surrounding area? According to Laura Miller, “nourished by its vital connections to a locality, [bookstores] can rise above profit considerations to provide community service as well as customer service” (122), and Library Express Bookstore does just that. It provides a much-needed public space where one might wander through the shelves of books as much an insider to that community as the clerk behind the desk, free from commercial obligation and confident that any money spent will directly benefit the Scranton Public Library system. This small, hybrid bookstore is a breath of fresh air in the predominantly industrial locale of Scranton.