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Printer-friendly versionBecky Anderson Running for Naperville City Council
A party was held on Sunday, March 1, for Anderson’s Bookshop co-owner Becky Anderson, who has announced her candidacy for a seat on the Naperville City Council. Anderson is a longtime leader of Naperville’s Local First movement and a former president of the American Booksellers Association.
Anderson was among several candidates endorsed by Naperville’s Daily Herald, which said, “The varied backgrounds and expertise of these candidates make them good fits for the council.”
Among those attending the party in support of Anderson’s candidacy were Naperville’s longtime mayor George Pradel, who is retiring after 20 years, and ABA CEO Oren Teicher.
Entertainment at the party, which was held at Anderson’s Bookshop, was provided by the North Central College a cappella group Sonata Problem.
Teaching for Change to Hand Reins to Politics & Prose
Politics & Prose, which currently operates bookstores at five Busboys and Poets locations, will be taking over the Teaching for Change Bookstore at the flagship Busboys and Poets in Washington, D.C., beginning this spring or summer. The partnership between Politics & Prose and Busboys and Poets began last November.
“As our national teacher and parent programs expand and the Busboys and Poets locations increase with new partner Politics & Prose, we decided this was an ideal time to pass on the operations of the bookstore at 14th & V,” said Teaching for Change Executive Director Deborah Menkart.
Opened 10 years ago within the Busboys and Poets space, Teaching for Change brings a multicultural focus to the store, with 90 percent of its children’s books being written by or about people of color.
Bluebird Books Makes Plans to Expand
In Hutchinson, Kansas, Bluebird Books will be adding a café and a space for classes, meetings, and events, owner Melanie Green told the Hutchinson News.
Customers visiting Bluebird can currently purchase coffee and pastries from a small selection offered, but the addition of a kitchen and café in the back of the store will increase the menu to include specialty coffees, smoothies, teas, Italian sodas, additional pastries made on-site, and breakfast and lunch options.
“I’ve always wanted to offer a cafe,” Green told the Hutchinson News. “I know there’s a demand for it. Now [readers] have another reason to come to a great bookstore.”
A new room in the adjacent building, connected to the bookstore by an interior doorway, will provide a space for in-store programming and will be available for outside groups to use for meetings. Green anticipates the projects being completed by late spring or early summer.
The Bookman Has New Owners
Grand Haven, Michigan’s The Bookman welcomed new owners on March 1. Taking over the business from John and Judy Waanders, who are retiring, are Sharon and Dick Tanis, Diane Steggerda, and Alexa McGuinness, reported the Grand Haven Tribune.
“It’s The Bookman,” Sharon Tanis told the Grand Haven Tribune. “It’s iconic. We were offered the opportunity to be a part of it and we just couldn’t pass it up. We couldn’t imagine this town or this area without an independent book store.”
All current employees will continue on under the new ownership, and few changes are planned in terms of the store and its operation, said Tanis. Some changes will include increasing the store’s social media presence, planning musical events and children’s story times, and working with area book clubs.
“The look will still be the same. It will still be The Bookman. We’re not going to go in and start knocking down walls and ripping things out. It will still be The Bookman that we all know and love. There are just going to be some extra faces around,” said Tanis.
New Bo Books Becomes Next Page Bookstore
Following the sale of Cedar Rapids, Iowa’s New Bo Books to Deb Witte, the store will reopen on Friday as Next Page Bookstore, the Gazette reported.
Its grand opening celebration will invite customers in to browse a new selection of magazines and fiction, nonfiction, and children’s books and to sample chocolates from the Marion Chocolate Shop.
“The discovery of books opened up a whole new world for me, and I want to share that through education and now through this bookstore,” Witte told the Gazette.
A Children’s Place Relocates
Portland, Oregon’s A Children’s Place has relocated after 15 years and is now housed at 1423 N.E. Fremont Street, the Oregonian reported.
The 40-year-old bookstore is now in a shopping plaza, alongside Whole Foods, the Backyard Bird Shop, and a veterinary clinic. Owner Pam Erlandson cited rent issues as the reason for relocating, but also noted her determination to stay in the neighborhood.
“I have wonderful dedicated customers ... and we’re excited to meet new people,” Erlandson told the Oregonian.
In its new home, A Children’s Place will host the same programming and author events and will carry the same inventory. “It’s smaller but it has just as much love,” said Erlandson.
Women & Children First to Celebrate History
On March 21, Women & Children First in Chicago, Illinois, will be holding an open house to honor Women’s History Month and the history of Women & Children First. It will also be unveiling the final piece of its recent renovation, which included a new layout, a new front counter and events space, and a freshened appearance with new flooring and paint.
At the open house, Women & Children First will reveal a timeline of the store’s history, created by artist and bookseller Jill Kuanfung, that features portraits of 14 authors the store has hosted over the years. A toast will honor the store and its co-founders, Ann Christophersen and Linda Bubon.
Phoenix Books Makes Good on Food Drive Challenge
Last December, Phoenix Books owner Mike DeSanto called on the stores’ communities in Essex and Burlington, Vermont, to donate nonperishable items for local food shelves and pledged to make a personal cash donation equal to the value of the food collected, up to $5,000.
With the challenge successfully met in both communities, DeSanto has sent the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf and the Essex-Jericho-Underhill Ecumenical Food Shelf each a check for $2,500.