Molly’s Books and Records: A Brief History

When looking at Molly’s Books and Records at 1010 South 9th Street, most are unaware of its extensive history, even in connection to the rich neighborhood that surrounds it.

Molly’s Books and Records is situated in Philadelphia’s Bella Vista neighborhood, right in the heart of the Italian Market. The neighborhood’s name means “Beautiful Sight” in Italian, and as you can imagine, was primarily settled by Italian immigrants in the early 20th century. With the immigrants came their home cultures, namely the open-air market. The Italian Market on 9th street is one of the oldest remaining in America. And this “microcosm of South Philly” is where Molly’s made its home. 

Molly Rusakoff, owner and namesake of Molly’s Books and Records, comes from a family of booksellers. Her father owned and operated Mostly Books on 10th Street, a bookstore which is still in operation and now owned by her younger brother. She purchased the property on South 9th street that would become Molly’s Books and Records in February 2002. According to co-owner Joe Ankenbrand in an interview with The 9th Street Beat, before it was Molly’s Books and Records it was Molly’s Cafe, Bella Vista Natural Foods, Molly’s Cafe and Bookstore, and Molly’s Books. There isn’t much information in regards to when and why this evolution took place beyond Ankenbrand’s word, as Molly’s online presence is minimal.

One thing that is certain is that records came into the equation when Rusakoff met 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 crates of records she didn’t know what to do with. Ankenbrand, who knew Rusakoff’s brother, had been a vinyl record collector since 1964, so she wanted him to price them for her. The two combined forces in 2010 and the rest, as they say, was history. Now, it is a family business. Rusakoff and Ankenbrand married in 2014 at the store in an intimate, self-governed ceremony among family. Now, in addition to books and records, Rusakoff’s son Johnny is in charge of the movie collection.

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It was very difficult to find sources for a concrete history of this bookstore. Old articles on inactive websites local to the area was where some information was held, yet pieces of that information clashed with the singular mainstream source, 6ABC Action News. There were many dead-ends and defunct sites that had the potential for knowledge that could have filled in many of the gaps in the above timeline, but they were lost even to the WayBack machine. And as migraine-inducing as it was to find what little chronological information about Molly’s exists, it reminds me of the purpose of not only this site, but this course. Bookstores are key, important places yet thousands of them around the world are lost to the sands of time. According to that 6ABC article, it seems as though Johnny is primed to take over the business one day. But after him? There is a chance that the only traces of the existence of Molly’s Books and Records could be on this very site. I’m proud to have contributed to the conservation of the history of a little bookstore inside Philadelphia’s Italian Market, despite the migraine.

Citations:

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

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

“Explore the Bella Vista Neighborhood of Philadelphia.” Visit Philadelphia, Visit Philadelphia , 18 May 2021, www.visitphilly.com/areas/philadelphia-neighborhoods/bella-vista/.

“Molly’s Books & Records.” The Merchants Fund, 2014, merchantsfund.org/story/mollys-books-records/.

“Molly’s Books & Records.” The Secondhand Beat, 12 Mar. 2011, thesecondhandbeat.wordpress.com/2011/03/12/mollys-books-records-part-ii/.

Molly’s Books and Records. Thejawn, http://www.thejawn.com/jawn/mollys-books-records-philadelphia/. Accessed 7 Oct. 2023.

Molly’s Bookstore. 6 Mar. 2008. Flickr, F.X.Enderby, https://www.flickr.com/photos/84423669@N00/2314901225/in/photostream/. Accessed 7 Oct. 2023.

Redfin. “1010 s 9th St, Philadelphia, PA.” Redfin, www.redfin.com/PA/Philadelphia/1010-S-9th-St-19147/home/40554758#public-facts-and-zoning. Accessed 7 Oct. 2023.