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. 

Library Express: A Consumer-Driven Model

Library Express: A Consumer-Driven Model

It’s a Saturday morning and you’re strolling the industrial white halls of the Marketplace at Steamtown, a fan of the hit TV Series The Office who just took a picture with the famous “Welcome to Scranton” sign from the opening theme, a Scranton local on the way to Crunch Fitness for your weekly 12-Round TKO class, or a parent with kids in tow waiting for the Electric City Aquarium to open. Further down the hall, you see some color breaking up the white and grey monotony, one of the only spots of visual activity at this end of the mall. As you get closer, you realize those are books carts out front, and you step a little quicker at the thought of browsing through the selection. The store’s window displays are creative and timely, bright fall colors and spooky paper spiders to match the current season, and the oak facade augmented with book pages as decoration is comfortable, orderly, and eye-catching. After perusing the used book carts out front and peeking at the event schedule on the accompanying whiteboard, you enter the store…

Located on the second floor of the Marketplace at Steamtown, smack dab in the heart of downtown Scranton, Library Express furnishes the community with color, accessibility, and creativity in a neat, orderly package. Before readers even enter the store, they can explore the loosely organized discount books on mismatched metal library carts by the entrance, divided by age range and general category (e.g., cookbooks, mass-market thrillers). These are the cheapest books in the store, with $1 used paperbacks and $3 used trade books.

Though the primary shelving in Library Express is nothing to scream home about—slightly battered, adjustable, walnut-colored shelves that occasionally look the slightest bit lopsided; plastic folding tables covered in paper; wire racks next to milk crates and pegboard—it certainly fills the need for practical functionality while avoiding a feeling of pretentiousness in the store’s presentation. Despite this purportedly pell-mell assortment of shelving, the store still achieves a uniform appearance and layout that is easy to grasp and maneuver through the moment you step into the space.

Along the walls on either side, sections are organized into small, contained U-shapes of similarly coded books: classics and classic-adjacents, adult and YA, nonfiction and special interest, etc. Although this store design is somewhat formulaic (U-shape after U-shape after U-shape with tables down the middle and little to break up the repetition), you don’t need to be familiar with the store to figure out where to find things or recognize what it’s about as a branch of the Lackawanna County Library System and an independent bookstore.

Library Express seems to borrow much of its layout from typical shopping mall outlets, presenting its wares in straight, orderly lines and the U-shaped “cubby” sections on either side of the space. 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. With its position in a former shopping mall and aging industrial town, Library Express definitely exudes that same straightforward, businessy atmosphere that pervades the rest of Scranton. It’s direct and to the point—you quickly recognize where to go to find the books you’re interested in, you can see straight through to the back of the store the moment you walk in, and while the layout encourages browsing and free movement, it doesn’t give you leave to linger for hours while reading an unpurchased or unborrowed book. In this vein, the store “buys into” that consumer culture with its prominent merch tables cutting through the center and the NYT Bestseller display right up front just past the book carts for anyone who wants to keep up with the current rankings.

In addition to the regimented orderliness of its design, notice, too, the distribution of Library Express’s three main product sections in the following floorplan. The bookstore is roughly divided into thirds, resulting in a large merch section in the middle of the store that clearly reveals the influence that traditional mall shopping culture and profit-minded sales models have had on the bookstore’s development. A brief color key: books for borrowing and other library spaces are in purple, non-book items for sale are in orange, and books for sale (new and used) are in green.

Library Express’s floor design and allocation of space is also revealing in terms of its collection. In Reluctant Capitalists, Laura 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, independent booksellers have a stake in upholding the community’s well-being and must cater to their customers’ interests and values to stay afloat in that community. Library Express does this in many ways by prioritizing certain genres or categories over others. For example, the cheapest books are the first things customers from the low-income community of Downtown Scranton interact with.

In terms of relative section size, Library Express frontloads the store with classics and nonfiction, while compressing all of adult fiction, memoir, and young adult into just one U-section. Classics are the only section that requires two rows of books on every shelf to accommodate the large selection and the nonfiction section overflows into used book crates on the floor. Meanwhile, YA and adult fiction is the section with the smallest number of face-out books because there’s only enough room for them to be packed in spine out due to how compressed their allotted space is, whereas the children’s books are given a lot of breathing room.

The library collection of the hybrid bookstore is also remarkably small, less than a quarter of the store’s floor space. It does contain, however, a huge assortment of large print texts that really is a testament to its specialization and dedication to accessibility in the community (the large print titles take up almost an entire wall of the library section, where space is a premium), as well as hundreds of DVDs library card holders can take home and enjoy for the standard two week period before returning. The library portion of the store seems less a resource for high academic pursuits and more a place for older individuals in Scranton’s aging population to stop by to pick up a movie or a relaxing afternoon read, which lines up with the store’s huge emphasis on community engagement and activities in the back part of the store.

Library Express, as influenced by the industrial, no-nonsense shopping culture in Scranton, is a store that calls back to (or never left) the days when bookstores operated on practical commercial business models, more of a transactional retailer than an intellectual gatekeeper (a model well-suited to the environment around it). 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 through its library resources and bookstore design.

Citations

Texts

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/.

Miller, Laura J. “Pursuing the Citizen-Consumer: Consumption as Politics.” Reluctant Capitalists: Bookselling and the Culture of Consumption, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2007, p. 226.

Images/Graphics

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

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

The History of a Crown Height’s Bookstore 

Café Con Libros of Crown Heights, Brooklyn was founded in 2017 by social activist, new mother, teacher, and Afro-Latinx woman, Kalima Desuze. She grew up in Crown Heights and is remarkably familiar with the neighborhood full of busy restaurants and bars. The neighborhood has many immigrants and is mixed with various cultures that Desuze urges people to celebrate. Her goals were to open a joyful space in Crown Heights that fostered her lifelong interest in literature and intersectional- feminism, and her love of coffee with an enjoyable book. The store carries literature written by authors from diverse backgrounds, classical, and more contemporary. Desuze is a veteran whose time in the military made her realize the importance of being around people you are not usually around and learning from them. Forming diverse and understanding communities is something she strives to do daily at her bookstore. After receiving degrees in social work and actively working with survivors of domestic abuse and war veterans, she decided to open a business away from her established career. The name Café Con Libros comes from a dish from Panama called Café Con Leches, which is a part of her culture and one of her favorite dishes. The store was inspired by her own joy brought on by literature. Her philosophy is that a person needs to build their own life before building a career, so that the joy and passion that is unique to the individual is expressed as fully as possible in their career choice. It was especially important for Kalima Desuze to open her shop by herself when she was ready. Through business podcasts and books, and solo travels Kalima gained knowledge about what it means to open your own business and the coffee culture of Ethiopia.  

To build community and accessibility to literature for locals and those coming to visit thew bookstore Kalima sells books for much less than the suggested retail price and gifts books to children to build a sense of family at the store and inspire a love for reading in the neighborhood. The feminist book club held in Café Con Libros first began meeting in January of 2018 and The Womxn of Color Book Club started in December of 2019. These literary events are held, and attendance is organically generated by word of mouth and social media. These events draw in regulars to the store and new book lovers looking for a community to be a part of. Both book clubs meet once a month on the last Sunday. I’ve made a timeline that shows how quickly things pick up for this bookstore in such little time.  

https://time.graphics/line/cfd379080812e22a0b88bc50b94c0f38

Purchases are “influenced by how the bookseller conceives of her proper relationship with her customers. More specifically, a bookseller’s judgements about what books to carry and sell are shaped by the extent to which she sees herself as rightfully taking an active role in guiding the reading of her customers,” (Miller 55). This take on bookselling reminds me a lot of Café con Libros because Kalima Desuze makes an effort to build a book loving community that is inclusive and carries many books by women and people of color. Miller explains today’s view on bookselling when she writes: “Today the notion that the bookseller should not interfere with consumers’ legitimate right to enjoy any book that suits their tastes is widespread,” (Miller 61). I don’t think Kalima is trying to convince people to stop reading certain books, but instead, create a bookstore that highlights certain types of books. In Café Con Libros’ case, their focus is feminist literature and authors with diverse backgrounds. This approach works particularly well for Café Con Libros because it is located in Crown Heights which is populated by many immigrants with distinct cultural backgrounds. Specialized and niche bookstores are very important in tofay’s homogenized world. Big stores that sell every book ever written, may be succcessful business wise, but may fall short in terms of creating a community for similar types of people. What is important to the customer is entirely unique, so the choice to visit an independet bookstore or a chain bookstore is made based on individual interest. I think Café con Libros is needed in addition to other independent bookstores because they have a specialized interest that creates a unique and loving community of readers.  

Work Cited 

“Café Con Libros.” Medium, medium.com/. Accessed 8 Oct. 2023. 

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

Saraniero, Nicole, et al. “Secrets of New York.” Untapped New York, 5 Mar. 2021, untappedcities.com/. 

“American Express Credit Cards, Rewards & Banking.” American Express Credit Cards, Rewards & Banking, www.americanexpress.com/. Accessed 8 Oct. 2023. 

BAM Bible Depot Books Books-A-Million bookselling bookstore bookstore floor plan bookstore history bookstores Brooklyn chicago Collection comic books Comics Comics Metropolis community Denver DJ Ernst Books feminism Floor plan Harrisburg History Independent Bookstore Laura J. Miller Lewisburg library Library Express literature manhattan midtown Mile High Comics Mondragon Books New York City Pennsylvania philadelphia place Powell's Scranton Selinsgrove Space Strand Bookstore Sunbury Susquehanna University Susquehanna Valley Mall Tim Cresswell

Gentrification & Reclamation: A Look at Harriett’s Bookshop

Gentrification & Reclamation: A Look at Harriett’s Bookshop

The Historic Neighborhood of Fishtown is Being Aggresivly Developed

But A Simple Bookshop May Just Restore Agency to the Community

Fishtown is considered the hub of Philadelphia’s trendiest artistic and cultural pursuits. From small coffee shops to independent art galleries, to local bookstores, the neighborhood is filled with attractive, interesting, fresh businesses. Geographically, Fishtown sits right along the Delaware River and the Delaware Expressway, making it a community rich with commuters and travelers alongside its regular residents. But there’s another side to Fishtown. Named for the historic residents of the area—mostly Irish Catholic fishermen and fishmongers—Fishtown is home to a whopping 37 registered historic sites, with likely far more gone unrecognized. The dichotomy of old and new creates a palpable tension.

Approximate location of Fishtown, also known as Lower Kensington

Philly’s overall population has struggled with gentrification because of the city’s deep historical roots, and the large population of lower-income people, people of color, and queer people who are disproportionately affected by the rising costs of rent and cost of living created by gentrifying development. For many, Fishtown serves as a potent example of the effects of development, and the loss of history.

On the outskirts of Fishtown, close to Delaware, lies Harriett’s Bookshop, owned and curated by author and educator Jeannine Cook. Harriett’s promotes the voices of Black American authors, primarily women, and believes in a strong sense of activism, art, and literature. The more I learned about Fishtown, the more I realized that there couldn’t be a better place for a bookstore that so valued the cultural development of its neighborhood, and the uplifting of marginalized voices therein.

Harriett’s storefront on Girard Ave sits on the southeast side of Fishtown, close to the river. The street is rich with businesses, with a healthy mix of generational ma-and-pa businesses like plumbers and cornerstones, and trendy hotspot cafes and photography studios. The majority of the buildings along Girard Ave are small, residential apartments and townhouses, built out of brick and colorfully painted wood. The street feels older, and genuine, making Harriet’s clean, san-serifed name stand out distinctly.

So Harriett’s exists right in the crux of the two markets of Fishtown: young, hip, trendy newcomers, and the older natives of the historic land. Because of this, Harriett’s needs to find ways to toe the line, to respect history but still look forward to the future. And it does just that.

Jeannine Cook chose the name Harriett’s Bookshop to honor Harriett Tubman, an incredible abolitionist human rights activist who moved hundreds of enslaved Black Americans to freedom in the North. Cook designed Harriett’s as both a “monument to [Harriett Tubman’s] legacy and also for folks to have dialogue around important issues.” In this way, Cook has constructed a definition of place quite in the same way that Tim Cresswell does in Place: A Short Introduction. Cresswell describes the location of the Twin Towers in New York City as containing the weight and power of the events of 9/11, in the sense that events, and public perception of those events, impose an incredible amount of energy to a place. Cook has attached the emotional and historical weight of Harriett Tubman’s legacy and the power and history of Black American Women to this bookstore. She’s created a hub of social and cultural understanding and an area of conversation in a neighborhood that marginalizes Black and African American citizens.

Graphic Pulled from Claritas, Titled Population by Race and Ethnicity

Philadelphia’s racial demographic breakdown, according to Data USA, tells a story that Fishtown in particular doesn’t. Philly has a huge percentage of Black or African American residents (around 40.1%), with the remaining population primarily White (34.1%), and then Asian (7%), with 15% of the city being ethnically Hispanic. Fishtown, however, is broken down as being predominantly White, with a dwindling population of other racial groups. Cook carefully curates Harriett’s book stock to reflect living artists of color, usually women, as well as artists of the past who have been historically underrepresented. She stocks Octavia Butler, Toni Morrison, Zora Neale Hurston, and Alice Walker. Harriett’s Bookshop creates an environment that plays against the historic assumptions of elitism in bookselling that Laura Miller presents in Reluctant Capitalists. Miller writes about the transfer of agency in defining the literary cannon from elitist booksellers to the people, that the industry has transitioned to “the consumer having the right to freely choose cultural goods without interference from cultural elites.” Cook’s curation almost reflects the curation of those cultural elites from bookselling’s past, but instead seeks to center the work that those elites would not have honored, work that has gone long unrecognized, work that uplifts the people of color in the community of Harriett’s.

Additionally, Harriett’s serves a demographic of people who are slowly losing their homes by creating a new sense of home for them in the bookstore–the low-income community of Fishtown. While household incomes average high in the neighborhood, there’s a large number of people who make less than $15,000 annually, an income that is practically unliveable in Philadelphia.

Graphic pulled from Claritas titled Households by Income

Cook creates a sense of welcome and hominess in Harriett’s by having wide open spaces with comfortable seating, and always burning Frankincense to create a calm, comfortable environment that people can enjoy even if they can’t buy a book. She hosts frequent cultural events and has been known to hand out free books. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cook set up a table outside where people could purchase books on an honor system. All of these things contribute to a relationship of trust and respect between Harriett’s and the people who live in the community around the bookstore. In a neighborhood that reflects Cresswell’s darker effects of place, where older neighbors might think that “‘Our Place’ is being threatened and others have to be excluded,” Harriett’s creates a unifying, respectful, peaceful energy that relaxes tensions and relieves stress. It truly serves as an example of how a bookstore can reflect the best of a community.

“Throughout the whole process [of opening], I kept thinking, ‘What could I give people that wouldn’t cost a lot but would potentially have a positive effect on their lives? Even if they decide not to buy a book, they get the frankincense, and they remember that they can come back to this space for that vibe.” –Jeanine Cook

Works Cited:

Claritas. “Claritas.” Claritas.com, 2018, claritas360.claritas.com/mybestsegments/#zipLookup.

Cresswell, Tim. “In Place/out of Place: Geography, Ideology, and Transgression.” Journal of Architectural Education (1984-), vol. 51, no. 2, Nov. 1997, p. 138, https://doi.org/10.2307/1425455.

“Defining “Historic Fishtown.”” Hidden City Philadelphia, 17 May 2016, hiddencityphila.org/2016/05/defining-historic-fishtown/. Accessed 17 Sept. 2023.

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

“Philadelphia, PA | Data USA.” Datausa.io, 2017, datausa.io/profile/geo/philadelphia-pa.

Poitevien, Jessica . “This Philadelphia Bookstore Honors Harriet Tubman’s Legacy with Literature, Art, and Activism.” Travel + Leisure, 20 Oct. 2022, www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/harrietts-bookshop-philadelphia. Accessed 17 Sept. 2023.

Sasko, Claire. “The Coolest Addition to Philly’s Indie Bookshop Scene Is Opening in Fishtown.” Philadelphia Magazine, 17 Jan. 2020, www.phillymag.com/news/2020/01/17/harrietts-bookshop-fishtown/. Accessed 17 Sept. 2023.

Gentrification & Reclamation: A Look at Harriett’s Bookshop

Navigating through Women and Children First

In 2015, Women and Children First renovated their store, which created an open and welcoming environment, easy for customers to walk around and navigate through. Looking at the interactive image, and the images included, we will be able to virtually navigate the store, and see for ourselves how the store is set up, and what exactly that means for the store.

Feel free to “walk” around the store with me! Hover your mouse over each picture as I reference it on our tour.

As we virtually walk up to the front door of the Women and Children First Bookstore, we can already start to see some of the beautifully lined shelves, organized tables and sales counter through the glass. Even in just these few glances of the interior of the bookstore, it is already clear that the inside of the bookstore is purposefully organized to support exactly what their name suggests–women and children, first. The inside of the store harbors big open spaces as well, which is aesthetically pleasing from the outside, but will prove to serve a purpose as we walk inside. Every book in Women and Children First is supporting their all inclusive, feminist message–that is, to support and empower women, children, and the LGBTQ community and welcome any and all people into the safe space of their store. Their 30,000 books that are written either for or about women, their extensive collection of gay and lesbian fiction and non-fiction, and their focus on children can be seen as we walk through the store (Women and Children First Website). Continuing this walk around the store and taking in the open spaces, the clear “coves” of book genres, the community areas, and the children’s section, we can see how all of these sections work together to make sure that this all inclusive (and feminist) message becomes evident in the design of the inside of the store.

 

Walking in through the front door, and looking immediately to the right, there is a “new and noteworthy” section. It is a table display right by the window immediately as people walk in, so it is the first thing they will see. As they look at the new and noteworthy section, it is all set up at eye level, and is set up on a table that is easy to read and see.

 

IMG_1033
Concept sketch of the remodel of the view from the front door.

Each of the main sections that line the right wall immediately after this section have smaller hand-painted signs around them to indicate which type of books are in those shelves, or displays. These sub-sections are all around the store, and include: essays and writing, fiction, new non-fiction, staff picks, events and book groups, etc. If you hover your mouse over the first black and white dot on the first Floor Plan interactive picture, you can start to see how these u-shaped coves work with books in them, and how they offer a small escape. They are all set up with tall bookshelves, which offer a large variety of each kind of book in each sub-section. Essays and writing, and the fiction section, come first on the right hand side. These u-shaped coves are set up to give people a place to stand and read the books without being in the way of other customers walking around the store. It allows them to feel like they are entirely welcomed, and unrushed, while they get a chance to browse. These coves give the customers a chance to browse through these books. In the essays and writings section, Tina Fey’s Bossypants can be clearly seen on the shelves. This is an example of a powerful woman who is being displayed on their shelves, and while she is using humor in her message, she is still using her

Hand-painted sign.
Hand-painted sign.

voice to empower other women. It’s no wonder they’re carrying her books in the store! The next black and white dot offers a close view of the fiction section, which really allows us to look at the hand-painted signs, as does this essays and writing picture. These hand-painted signs remind the consumer that they are in an independent bookstore, and can ultimately serve as part of the welcoming atmosphere since hand-made touches make the atmosphere seem much more personable.

 

The third black and white dot offers a view of the middle of the bookstore. Once leaving these coves, the events and book groups section is right in the middle of the store. Since it is placed here, it is very hard to miss and stands in the middle of the busiest part of the store. This placement shows its importance to the store, since book groups and events are such a large part of what Women and Children First stand for, and try to offer for their community. The events often time promote the writers from the community, or some of the women writers they carry on their own shelves.

12661907_10153219879696338_3680067042118201520_n
A young girl reading on the floor of the store.

In the last sections of the “coves” there are fiction books, and then continuing into the back of the store, there is an LGBTQ and Women’s Studies section. Right next to this section, is the extensive Children’s section, complete with a reading community area set up in front of it. These two sections are coupled together at the back of the store to serve as the main area, and focus, of the store. These independent bookstores often have a “willingness to risk alienating other book[s]…in order to promote their collective interests” which then in turn promotes the “development of a collective identity” within the bookstore itself (Miller 191). These two sections coupled together essentially tell the entire story of the mission or message of the bookstore. Women and Children First wants to do exactly that—put women and children, first. The Women’s Studies section borders the large children’s section, which can be seen in the fourth black and white dot.

IMG_1032
Concept sketch of the remodel of the community space.

12669615_10153219879766338_3599566406940503823_n-2
Jeannette Winterson reads in one of the community spaces in 2015.

Moving to the fifth black and white dot on the top wall of the floor plan, we can see the Community and Event space where many of the events are held. In this picture, there is a table set up, but that space can also host a bunch of chairs instead if there is guest speaker coming, like the picture to the immediate left shows. This section is the second biggest section of the store, and this alone indicates its importance to the message of the store since there are always inspiring women coming in to speak and read their work.

 

 

Bookstores frequently offer community spaces now, since they allow a chance for the consumer to get involved and become active in the bookstore experience itself. It’s no wonder there was such an emphasis to create this large community space during the remodel. Not only that, but consumers often times look for “consumption as an arena that, in contrast to so much else in life, is painless and fun to navigate” (Miller 222). Women and Children First understands that we want our trips to the bookstore to be fun, and to be easy, which explains the open spaces and “coves” that were added in the remodel as well. The shape and layout of these displays are easy to navigate, which makes the experience more fun for us, as the costumers. Not only that, but these open areas, and these event areas, cultivate the welcoming and open environment and create the “safe space” that is the bookstore itself. Also, the book content itself (like the LGBTQ section, and the prominent women authors) highlight the inclusiveness of the store for any and all people, and promotes their feminist message through their support of these books by and about women, the homosexual community, and children.

The sales counter is the last black and white dot, and is again in the middle of the store. This is one of the last things we would see as we exited the store, but not without first having a lively conversation with the employees working at the sales counter. Having a bubbly sales person as the last thing we see on the way out would even further seal this view of the bookstore as

Staff picks corner.
Staff picks corner.

an inclusive environment, that is extremely welcoming. After all, even after taking a virtual tour, these certain themes around the story can start to be seen, and the narrative of the store and the message of the store can be understood already. There is a small cards section right next to the sales counter, and is one of the only sections without books in it. Being close to the exit, it is the very last thing we would see, but is also not in a space in the store that highlights its importance, suggesting that it is not of much importance in the store itself. There is even a staff picks section in one corner of the store, which is complete with small hand-written notes about each of the books. This section again reminds the customer of the time and energy the staff put in to making the bookstore a special place, and is a refreshing experience compared to an experience that you would have at a chain bookstore.

 

Ultimately, Women and Children First has succeeded in doing just that given the layout of their store after the remodel. I can’t wait to get to experience the atmosphere first hand!

Citations

Images

Courtesy of Lynn Mooney (former owner): Concept Sketch: Community Area, Concept Sketch: View From Front Door, Floor Plan, Photo of Children’s section, Photo of First “Cove,” Photo of Sales Counter

Google Maps: Women and Children First front door.

Women and Children First Facebook Page: Community Space Table, Essays and Writing Sign, Events and Book Groups Display, Fiction Sign, Jeanette Winterson, Staff Picks Corner, Young Girl Sitting on Floor.

Links

Women and Children First Website: http://www.womenandchildrenfirst.com/wcf-history-and-purpose

Text

Miller, Laura. Reluctant Capitalists. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2007. Print.