Kathleen Pierec, The Boston Globe
QUINCY — It’s Saturday afternoon, and the bookstore is buzzing. Young mothers snap up picture books for less than the price of a cup of coffee. A health coach thumbs through the latest book by Andrew Weil. The arms of an avid fiction reader sag under a stack of paperbacks.
Pic right - Library director Harry R. Williams III looks over the titles at the bookstore… (Jonathan Wiggs/Globe staff)
“The price is perfect. This place is a gift,’’ said Ellen Murphy, 60, of Quincy, as she perused selections of gently used books at the shop that opened last fall in the Thomas Crane Public Library.
Brick-and-mortar bookstores are closing faster than you can say “Kindle Fire.’’ But from Worcester to Truro, bookstores are resurfacing in an unexpected place: the town library.
It might seem incongruous that people would purchase books in a place where they’re accustomed to borrowing them for free. But in the past few years, a dozen or so libraries across the state have opened bookstores with dedicated staffs. In doing so, libraries have found a new source of income to finance programs.
Storage closets, refurbished basements, and forgotten areas of library buildings are now home to little shops with hundreds of used books, many of them in tiptop condition, available for sale. For less than the price of a shipping charge from Amazon, readers are helping their libraries buy museum passes, screen films, put on lectures, and offer other programs.
Link here for rest of story.
QUINCY — It’s Saturday afternoon, and the bookstore is buzzing. Young mothers snap up picture books for less than the price of a cup of coffee. A health coach thumbs through the latest book by Andrew Weil. The arms of an avid fiction reader sag under a stack of paperbacks.
Pic right - Library director Harry R. Williams III looks over the titles at the bookstore… (Jonathan Wiggs/Globe staff)
“The price is perfect. This place is a gift,’’ said Ellen Murphy, 60, of Quincy, as she perused selections of gently used books at the shop that opened last fall in the Thomas Crane Public Library.
Brick-and-mortar bookstores are closing faster than you can say “Kindle Fire.’’ But from Worcester to Truro, bookstores are resurfacing in an unexpected place: the town library.
It might seem incongruous that people would purchase books in a place where they’re accustomed to borrowing them for free. But in the past few years, a dozen or so libraries across the state have opened bookstores with dedicated staffs. In doing so, libraries have found a new source of income to finance programs.
Storage closets, refurbished basements, and forgotten areas of library buildings are now home to little shops with hundreds of used books, many of them in tiptop condition, available for sale. For less than the price of a shipping charge from Amazon, readers are helping their libraries buy museum passes, screen films, put on lectures, and offer other programs.
Link here for rest of story.