51吃瓜

Besides being spaces where patrons can relax and feed their minds, bookshops have historically served as community gathering spots and hubs for social change. A notable example is New York鈥檚 Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop, which was the site of for the first gay pride in 1970.

鈥淥scar Wilde soon became Information Central. As the first gay bookshop in the country, we amassed something that proved to be invaluable for organizing a march,鈥� Fred Sargeant in his 2010 first-person account for the Village Voice.

Meanwhile, Washington, DC鈥檚 Drum and Spear Bookstore, 鈥渨as a creative hub for black power, black consciousness and internationalist activism鈥� from 1968 to 1974, to the Library of Congress. The bookshop eventually shut down due to .听

Despite being bastions of societal advancement, community and mental nourishment, bookshops have dwindled due to factors like from Amazon and the popularity of . In 2021, the United States Census Bureau that 鈥渢he number of U.S. Book stores (as listed in the North American Industry Classification System) dropped from 12,151 in 1998 to 6,045 in 2019.鈥�

The pandemic furthered this downward trend. In October 2020, Focus Finance that 鈥渟ales turnover from brick and mortar bookstores declined by 31% from January to July 2020. Some bookstores are even seeing year-over-year sales declines as high as .鈥�

Discover Orca, Olympia鈥檚 largest independent bookstore

In April 2020, when Covid-19 was in full swing, the Orca bookstore in Olympia, Washington stayed afloat by the co-op model. As the shop鈥檚 explains, owner Linda Berentsen 鈥渨as ready to retire, but wanted to ensure that the store lived on.鈥�

鈥淒iversifying was the only option,鈥� Kait Leamy, an Orca worker-owner since December 2021. 鈥淧eople didn鈥檛 want Orca to go away, so turning into a member-owned co-op was a great way to fundraise at the time.鈥�

Leamy explains that the shop, which existed in various forms for nearly three decades before becoming the Orca Books Cooperative, is now owned by its employees and supportive Olympia community members.

鈥淚 think people in this area love that community-run aspect of things,鈥� they state, adding that Orca owes its survival to this communal spirit. 鈥淭he community has saved our lives several times. People in town are supportive on a day-to-day basis by shopping here and also when big, crazy things happen.鈥� For example, one crowdsourcing campaign replenished funds lost to an . Another helped cover veterinary expenses for the shop鈥檚 resident cat, .

The bookshop has two kinds of : 鈥淏asic Consumer [and] Low-Income Consumer.鈥� Each member pays a fee that provides some benefits, discounts and voting rights.

Olympia is a hot spot for co-ops. In 2019, the Northwest Cooperative Development Center the social justice publication Works in Progress that the city had 鈥渕ore cooperatively owned businesses per capita than any other US city (one co-op business for every 5,255 residents).鈥�

Leamy, who was a member of several co-ops while in college, notes, 鈥淣ow I can鈥檛 have a job with the hierarchy that regular corporate jobs have, because I am so used to this co-op model where everybody has autonomy, [all] voices are equal, and no one is telling you what to do.鈥�

As Olympia鈥檚 largest independent bookstore, Orca is a space where customers and staff 鈥渇rom all walks of life鈥� form 鈥渁 vibrant, supportive, and generous book-loving community,鈥� the store鈥檚 site . 鈥淲e rejoice in offering a wonderfully eccentric haven for our wonderfully diverse patrons.鈥�

The shop鈥檚 amenities include a free coffee cart and a mutual aid table with medical supplies. Orca also carries cards, calendars, stickers, prints, magnets, t-shirts and other items crafted by local creatives like noted papercut artist .

It also as a 鈥渃ommunity hub for book trade, resource sharing, and community re-cycling.鈥�

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to spend money to be here,鈥� Leamy notes. 鈥淭hese days, there are so few places in the world that you鈥檙e allowed to just be in, so we try hard to make Orca a welcoming place. I think that helps us because people care and are invested.鈥�

Selling mostly used books, Orca strives to keep its prices as low as possible, 鈥渟o people can have access to the information,鈥� according to Leamy. 鈥淲e鈥檙e told all the time that we鈥檙e the cheapest bookstore in town. That feels important to us because new books are getting more and more expensive. A new hardcover these days can be $45.鈥�

Rather than participating in a wholesale process, local authors can sell their books in small numbers at Orca. The shop takes only a small cut, leaving the author with the majority of the sale price.

Orca hosts events such as author talks, poetry readings, mending circles and book club meetings 鈥渨here [people] come together, read the same thing, talk about it, and talk about life and the world,鈥� Leamy says. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 do that on Amazon. Having a physical space and a physical book instead of digital feels important.鈥�

Combined with right-wing efforts to ban and burn books, the decrease in face-to-face interaction in the digital age makes the survival of shops like Orca more important than ever.

鈥淏ookstores, particularly, are hard [to maintain] these days,鈥� Leamy observes. 鈥淭here are some days where we say, 鈥楢re we going to make it?鈥� and some days where we鈥檙e flying high. I think there are enough people out there who want bookstores to exist [bettering the odds] that we can make it.鈥�

[ edited this piece.]

[ produced this piece.]

The views expressed in this article are the author鈥檚 own and do not necessarily reflect 51吃瓜鈥檚 editorial policy.