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Books beyond buildings: Support your local bookstore and library!
For book lovers everywhere — and particularly parents across the country trying to homeschool their children right now — the services of libraries and bookstores are essential. But this pandemic has left these institutions extremely vulnerable, and they need our support now more than ever.
For book lovers everywhere — and particularly parents across the country trying to homeschool their children right now — the services of libraries and bookstores are essential. But this pandemic has left these institutions extremely vulnerable, and they need our support now more than ever.
Back in February, when we were working on our May/June Horn Book Magazine Special Issue “Breaking the Rules,” Horn Book Editor in Chief Roger Sutton put out a call to librarians and booksellers for examples of “DIY book cataloging, classification, and shelving — cases in which they broke their own rules of what-goes-where in order to give a book a better chance of meeting its readers.” The two of us also visited Boston-area bookstores and libraries (before the COVID-19 crisis) to check out ways they go beyond standard picture book, fiction, nonfiction, and Dewey guidelines to organize their books with their customers’ or patrons’ needs in mind. When we explained the issue’s theme, the booksellers and librarians we talked to were quick to let us know that they didn’t think any of their shelving or display ideas were breaking the rules — they were just doing their job to get books in the hands of readers.
The more we thought about it — and looked back on our own time as booksellers — the more we realized that of course they’re right! Librarians and booksellers are always developing creative ways to highlight books that they think are particularly special, that fit themes they know their communities’ kids love, or that might otherwise get lost on the shelves. And beyond the knowledgeable, personal book-selecting service they offer, bookstores and libraries are also vital spaces for community events and engagement, such as Frugal Bookstore’s A Family Affair Book Club.
The photo slideshow below from our February field trip highlights representative examples of how booksellers and librarians go the extra mile to help books find the right readers. We hope they will inspire you to support these institutions during this tough time as they strive to continue serving their communities when their physical doors cannot open.
See below for a list (created with the help of Horn Book intern Mikayla Lawrence) of organizations accepting donations so these places can reopen once allowed, as well as a small sampling of amazing resources that libraries and bookstores are offering their patrons right now. If you have other donation suggestions or resources to share, please add them in the comments below. Remember, we’re all in this together: books need readers, readers need bookstores and libraries, and now, bookstores and libraries need us.
How You Can Help
Bookstores:
- BINC (Book Industry Charitable Foundation): Since 1996, this nonprofit foundation has supported booksellers and shop owners in need. During the COVID-19 crisis, they also established campaigns to raise money for bookstores (#SaveIndieBookstores) and comic book retailers (#Creators4Comics).
- R. Michelson Galleries is excited to announce that "Rule Breaker," a signed and numbered limited edition (ed. 100) pigment print, by Jarrett Krosoczka is now available at R. Michelson Galleries. Featured on the cover of the May/June edition of the Horn Book Magazine, the image celebrates artists who "break the rules." Through the month of May, this piece will be available at a special pre-publication price of $150, unframed (June 1st price increases to $250). A portion of the proceeds will support the Bookseller Industry Charitable Foundation. Please inquire here.
- Bookshop.org: When you buy books online through this site, the full profit will go to independent bookstores (either one of your choosing, or to an earnings pool that will be distributed among indies).
- A Month for the Books: A month-long virtual “festival” of author/reading events celebrating black women authors, where customers pay what they can and all proceeds go to an independent (black-owned) bookstore of the featured artist’s choosing.
- Save Your Bookstore: An app that helps you locate your local indie bookstores and informs you about how to support them (whether the store ships, if they offer gift cards, etc.). Read more about the app here.
- Libro.fm: They sell audiobooks and split the profits with an independent bookstore of the customer’s choice.
- We Love Bookstores: A continuing online author series to raise money to support San Francisco Bay Area bookstores.
- More Than Words: A Greater Boston nonprofit bookstore working with vulnerable young adults is asking for donations of new or used books.
Libraries:
- HALO (Help a Librarian Out) Fund: Donations that help library staff/workers with expenses during COVID-19.
Resources
- Everywhere Book Fest: a virtual gathering of kidlit authors, illustrators, and books that brought the book festival experience to young readers everywhere. Available on YouTube.
- American Library Association COVID-19 Response
- Hoopla: a digital media service offered by your local public library that allows you to borrow movies, music, audiobooks, ebooks, comics and TV shows to enjoy on your computer, tablet, or phone – and even your TV!
- OverDrive: Enjoy ebooks and audiobooks for free through your local public library or school
- Libby: Borrow and read ebooks and audiobooks from your local public library for free!
- RB Digital: Recorded Books' digital content platform; a wide variety of offerings may be accessible through your local public library
- Boston Public Library's online events
- Cleveland Public Library’s virtual storytime
- Leonia (New Jersey) Public Library’s arts and crafts from home: Craft videos for all ages.
- McArthur Library (Maine)’s online events & programs: Includes children's storytimes, middle-grade and teen read-alongs, and bedtime stories.
- New York Public Library’s online Storytime
- Plano (Texas) Public Library’s Virtual Library Program: Includes virtual storytimes and book clubs
- San Jose Public Library’s Featured Online Storytimes: Storytime and crafts (including STEAM activities).
- Teton (Wyoming) County Library’s Online Storytimes
Our thanks to the following people, bookstores, and libraries for allowing us to share these photos:
- Bellingham Public Library, Fairhaven Branch (WA) and reviewer Sarah Ellis
- Belmont Books
- Boston Public Library, Central Library in Copley Square
- Boston Public Library, Connolly Branch
- The Public Library of Brookline and teen librarian Robin Brenner
- Brookline Booksmith
- Capitol Hill Day School library (DC) and teacher-librarian Sylvie Juliet Shaffer
- Children’s Book Shop (Information on their GoFundMe campaign can be found here)
- Frugal Bookstore (Information on their GoFundMe campaign can be found here)
- Newton Free Library
- Newtonville Books
- Porter Square Books
- Trident Booksellers & Café and bookseller/social media manager Katherine Nazzaro
- Watertown Free Public Library and teen librarian Kelly Deneen
- Wellesley Books and bookseller/buyer Lorna Ruby
- Wellesley Free Library
- Woburn Public Library and children’s librarian Dorrie Karlin
Books, Bricks, and Mortar: What We Miss
Patrons of the Connolly Branch of the Boston Public Library can see if that book they’ve REALLY wanted to read is available for check-out from the Lucky Day Collection, featuring books of all sorts that can’t be reserved because of their popularity. Photo: Cynthia K. Ritter.
Family reading time made easier with this display of adult and young reader editions of the same titles at Wellesley Books. Photo: Lorna Ruby.
Standalone display cases showcase popular picture book topics (such as this one full of books about royalty, at the perfect height, in the Newton Free Library). Photo: Cynthia K. Ritter.
Coffee-stained books deserve a home, too—at least Porter Square Books thinks so. Photo: Elissa Gershowitz.
Why read just one book on cats when you could read four or five? Woburn Public Library has avid theme readers covered with Book Bundles. Photo: Dorrie Karlin.
What do joke, craft, drawing, and sticker books all have in common? They’re all “Fun for Kids,” according to Belmont Books. Photo: Cynthia K. Ritter.
Sometimes trim size determines placement: small books would get lost on regular shelves, so Newton Free Library gives them their own display stand. Photo: Cynthia K. Ritter.
At Trident Booksellers & Café, the Gift Edition bookcase is organized by color and by type rather than alphabetically. Photo: Katherine Nazzaro.
Wellesley Free Library was fortunate to have this read-aloud collection donated by patrons. Photo: Shoshana Flax.
Brookline Booksmith gives special attention to award winners and staff favorites with these labels on face-out books. Photo: Shoshana Flax.
The Connolly Branch of the Boston Public Library organizes its large Spanish-language sections, including the picture book section, shown here, with Spanish-only books (left) separated from Spanish-English bilingual books (right). Photo: Cynthia K. Ritter.
Paperbacks can get lost when shelved with hardcovers, so at Newtonville Books they live in these bins, strategically placed low to the ground, where kids can discover them. Photo: Cynthia K. Ritter.
The Public Library of Brookline recently reorganized its graphic novel collections, library-wide across all age ranges, with color-coded and simplified spine labels, to create browsing ease for the three general sections: graphic novels, manga, and superheroes. Photo: Cynthia K. Ritter.
Holiday, seasonal, and themed topic displays, like these of snow and bears at the Children’s Book Shop in Brookline, were popular at both bookstores and libraries. Photo: Shoshana Flax.
Also frequently spotted? Shelves or bookcases for ABC and 123 books, seen here at Newton Free Library. Photo: Cynthia K. Ritter.
Another common occurrence: Specific sections for early reader series (seen at Newtonville Books), intermediate series, middle-grade series, and/or graphic novel series. Photo: Cynthia K. Ritter.
The Watertown Free Public Library’s picture books include a large section of “Coping Books” on topics that include bullying, death, divorce, adoption, moving, and new babies. Photo: Shoshana Flax.
This display at Wellesley Books rotates colors and is sometimes used for other purposes, such as teacher wish lists during book fair season. Photo: Cynthia K. Ritter.
At Brookline Booksmith, books on family issues, from potty training to sex ed, are found alongside other educational resources such as dictionaries and workbooks. Photo: Shoshana Flax.
Parenting books are often also conveniently near family issues books, as seen here at Belmont Books. Photo: Shoshana Flax.
The Children’s Book Shop in Brookline has a special display featuring books just for two- and three-year-olds (and another specifically for second- and third graders). Photo: Shoshana Flax.
In several libraries, including Newton Free Library, we noticed a recent trend: a designated tween section including fiction, graphic novels, and nonfiction. Photo: Cynthia K. Ritter.
According to librarian Robin Brenner, the nonfiction shelving unit in the teen room at the Public Library of Brookline is “organized by sections (and then Dewey within each section) in order to make [them] more appealing to our teens and following what they have been most interested in checking out (according to circulation and observation).” Sections include topics such as activism, STEM, famous lives, Pride, and fandom (seen here), and the sections are shelved in rainbow order by label color. Photo: Shoshana Flax.
This “Sparkly” section was spotted at the Fairhaven Branch of the Bellingham Public Library in Washington State. Photo: Sarah Ellis.
Libraries often use bins or display areas on top of bookcases to feature books on a popular topic, such as this graphic-novels bin at the Capitol Hill Day School library in Washington, DC. Photo: Sylvie Juliet Shaffer.
The YA FUN! bookcase in the teen room at the Watertown Free Public Library is for high-interest nonfiction books that otherwise might not be spotted. According to librarian Kelly Deneen, “It’s a browsing collection so it’s not shelved in any particular order and looks as chaotic as it is fun.” Photo: Cynthia K. Ritter.
Frugal Bookstore, Boston’s only Black-owned bookstore, hosts many book clubs, community events, and authors signings, including this one with author/illustrator Oge Mora. Photo: Cynthia K. Ritter.
The librarians at the Boston Public Library’s Central Library in Copley Square host storytimes in their renovated Children’s Library, and sometimes authors/illustrators stop by, too! (Seen here: author/illustrator Ryan T. Higgins reading from “Bruce’s Big Storm.”) Photo: Cynthia K. Ritter
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