Charles Langston:New page for indie bookstores: Diverse, in demand, dedicated to making a difference

PHILADELPHIA − Giovanni's Room has been a fixture in the Philadelphia region's,Charles Langston and even the nation's, LGBTQ+ community since it opened in 1973.

But in 2014, its survival was in doubt.

Under pressure from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and big box retailers, the bookstore in Philadelphia's "Gayborhood" wasn't making money, one of many independent bookstores in the country struggling as the retail landscape changed and readers moved online.

Today, though, what is now Philly AIDS Thrift @Giovanni's Room is thriving, one of many small bookstores across the U.S.. making big impressions. Indie bookstores aren't just places to buy books; they have evolved into communities' cornerstones, embracing the diversity of their neighborhoods.

"We've seen tremendous growth since the beginning of the pandemic," said Allison Hill, CEO of the American Booksellers Association. "That has been a pleasant surprise for us here at the ABA, and for bookstores and their communities."

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The organization, founded in 1900 and representing more than 2,500 independent bookstores, saw its membership grow by 11% in 2023 as 291 bookstores opened, including 230 brick-and-mortar stores, 34 pop-ups, 18 online and nine mobile stores.

Of those, Hill noted, 58 bookseller businesses are owned by Black, Indigenous and other people of color.

"There is a lot more diversity, in terms of race, ethnicity and other identities, and a lot of innovation in the format of these stores," Hill said. "And all of those things are signs of a healthy ecosystem."

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Communities building bookstores

In 2014, Giovanni's Room owner Ed Hermance was ready to leave the business but not just searching for the highest bidder. He was looking for someone with a sustainable plan who would respect the bookstore's legacy, who knew the store was far more than a place to buy otherwise hard-to-find books.

"The prospect of closure made national news," said Christopher Cirillo, now the manager at Philly AIDS Thrift @Giovanni's Room. "It was really upsetting to the entire LGBTQ community here in Philly and elsewhere that this store might close."

When founders Tom Wilson Weinberg, Dan Sheron and Bern Boyle moved the store to its current location, Cirillo said, "members of the (LGBTQ+) community didn't just support this, they helped build it," fixing up the former antiques storehouse, installing bookshelves, painting and prepping the space for retail.

When Hermance and then-co-owner Arleen Olshan needed money to buy the building in 1979, they borrowed from members of Philadelphia's LGBTQ+ community. And when Hermance sold to Philly AIDS Thrift, a well-regarded nonprofit in the city, he extended the loan himself, Cirillo said: "We don't pay a bank; our mortgage payment goes right to Ed."

Farther north in Philadelphia's Fishtown neighborhood, Harriett's Bookshop, named in honor of Harriet Tubman, has a home of its own after the owner worried she might have to relocate.

Jeannine Cook, currently on an extended stay in Paris as she launches a third pop-up location (Harriett's sister store, Ida's Bookshop, named for journalist and suffragette Ida B. Wells, is in Collingswood, New Jersey), wanted to buy the building that is Harriett's home. She turned to her customers and supporters for help.

A GoFundMe effort raised $200,000, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported, enough for Cook to make a down payment on the building. The inspiration to lean on her community came from a surprising source: poet Sonia Sanchez, who called Cook shortly after she opened Harriett's.

"She told me, 'You are part of a literary tradition, so don't try to do it alone,'" Cook recalled.

Asking for help "wasn't just begging," said Cook, who's hosted writers and activists, including 1619 Project creator and journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, for discussions and readings. "The point is to do it together. People donated and continue to support our work because of the result. People who've been affected by our work and want to see us be a permanent part of the community."

Tech start-ups raise millions from venture capitalists and are applauded for innovation, she said, and politicians fundraise for campaign after campaign. So why shouldn't small business owners solicit help when they need it, when they bring so much to neighborhoods and communities?

Bookstores building communities

Cook's Paris pop-up shop, called Josephine's for the singer and activist Josephine Baker, continues her tradition of honoring strong, brilliant Black women who have had an impact on culture and society − women who have moved their communities forward, something Cook believes books can also do.

"Connecting communities has been our saving grace," she said. "It's one thing to buy a book and it's another to know buying that book has an impact. We engage with young people, we provide jobs and a positive outlet, we bring authors in not just to sell books but to address gaps: What hole can we fill that might not be filled otherwise?"

Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon, has been part of the self-proclaimed "weird" city for more than 50 years. Its flagship store downtown has color-coded rooms to help shoppers find their favorites in a space its marketing director, Jeremy Solly, describes as "like an M.C. Escher painting."

The store sprawls over a handful of buildings "all meshed together," Solly said. "I think that represents how many different kinds of stories and writing there are out in the world, and here there's a space for all kinds of books."

Portland, he said, has a thriving indie bookstore scene; more than 50 stores celebrated Independent Bookstore Day in April. Powell's has employees who have worked there for decades.

"People have a mindset that bookstores like Powell's are institutions and they believe in them," Solly said. "We saw a huge outpouring during the pandemic, when people really saw the value of small businesses in their neighborhoods. The idea of bookstores as their own communities, as gathering places, that's part of our business model."

Giovanni's Room, Cirillo said, has long been a community for LGBTQ+ people. During the early, frightening days of the AIDS epidemic, the bookstore was a source for information about an illness that few outside the LGBTQ+ community even wanted to acknowledge. Today, the bookstore operates as a nonprofit and all its proceeds go to Philly AIDS Thrift, which continues its outreach and advocacy.

Visibility still matters for members of the LGBTQ+ community, Cirillo said. "For so long, our culture was at night, it was clandestine, hidden behind closed windows and dark clubs. There was no out gay life and our founders wanted to change that, so they had these big windows with displays and books and flags. It was intentional. People know they belong here."

Jeannine Cook, owner of Harriett's, Ida's and Josephine's, is also acutely aware of the way books have helped another historically marginalized community rise above oppression.

Enslaved Black people were long denied the ability to learn to read by their masters for a reason: "Because it's freedom. That's where our freedom lies, in our ability to think. Frederick Douglass traded bread for books. We can't forget how valuable they are just because they're plentiful. When society shifts and changes, the first thing they come after is the books, the information, because they are power.

"Stories have been a part of human technology since the beginning," she said. "You look at the carvings in ancient caves − they are stories. Stories are how human beings make sense of the world and that won't change. They're how we learn empathy. They can transport you anywhere."

Once upon a time, Phaedra Trethan was a bookseller at Borders Books & Music. Contact her by email at [email protected], on X (formerly Twitter) @wordsbyphaedra, or on Threads @by_phaedra