Due to the pandemic, some people have more free time than ever. Nestling in with a good book seems to be a popular way to pass the time and keep their minds off the uncertainty of what is happening around the world. According to CNBC, after the craziness of stockpiling supplies at the beginning of the pandemic passed, some online spending shifted to books. While online and e-book sales are surging as people do not want to leave their homes to purchase a new book, local bookstores are working hard to be there for their customers during this time.
On the 4500 block of Baltimore Avenue in West Philadelphia is a small, independently owned, volunteer-based bookstore called Bindlestiff Books. It opened its doors in 2005, with a goal to be a neighborhood bookstore. To reach this goal, Bindlestiff focuses on selling books it believes its friends and neighbors would be interested in. During this pandemic, when so many people are hesitant to return to their paid jobs, this volunteer-staffed bookstore managed to reopen after just fifty days of closure.
However, since reopening with regulations like mask wearing, limiting the number of people allowed to enter the store, regular cleaning of frequently touched surfaces, and more, Bindlestiff Books still has volunteers that are not comfortable with returning to work. To cope with its volunteer shortage and remain open, the store’s hours of operation are on a limited rotating schedule between curbside pickup on Wednesdays and Thursdays and open doors for customers to browse during the weekends. The bookstore aims to work with the comfort levels of its volunteers and its customers in order to stay open. “Many people are hungry for books in these difficult times, and we are doing our best to make them available,” says Bindlestiff volunteer Jon Bekken.
Bindlestiff Books carries books in a wide variety of genres and on many subjects, but is especially strong in children’s books, literary fiction, history, and politics. In particular, books on policing and race are selling more briskly so far this summer. For more information on Bindlestiff Books visit: https://bindlestiffbooks.wordpress.com/.
Steph Cugine is a senior at Drexel University studying an open concentration in Communications. In her free time, you can catch her writing, reading, playing the piano or exploring the city of Philadelphia.