Check It Out: Red Chair Bookshop Opening at Central Denver Library

You don't have to wait for the next big library sale to stock your shelves. Tomorrow morning the Denver Public Library will open the Red Chair Bookshop on the west side of the Central Denver Library. The store will sell library souvenirs along with used books, CDs and DVDs — some...

By Patricia Calhoun

September 19, 2016

Audio By Carbonatix

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You don't have to wait for the next big library sale to stock your shelves. On Tuesday, September 20, the Denver Public Library will open the Red Chair Bookshop on the west side of the Central Denver Library. The store will sell library souvenirs along with used books, CDs and DVDs — some pulled out of circulation, others donated.

Every year, about 3 million items are donated to the DPL. “We get donations of books and materials in perfect condition, and the store allows us to get them into new hands and make money to support the library’s collections and programs," says Laurie Romer, assistant director of the Friends Foundation, a nonprofit that supports the library. "It’s a win-win for everyone.”

And a big win for the Friends, who responded to requests from customers who were asking daily why the library didn't have a bookstore. "So it was really the idea of the public," notes Romer. "I just had the energy and will to make it happen."
The store, whose name is a nod to Donald Lipski's "The Yearling," the beloved piece of public art that stands outside the library on West 14th Avenue, will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and staffed by Friends volunteers. "We have little red chairs for sale, each with a quote about bookstores," Romer says, "and our art all features red chairs. We also have DPL T-shirts and water bottles."

And there's plenty of obscure, cool stuff, too, like "our curated collection of Colorado history books, including a book of Harry Rhodes photos," adds Romer.

But bargain hunters needn't worry that the new store will close the book on the library's big annual sales. The Friends Foundation will continue to host large-scale book sales when inventory becomes high. In fact, the next sale is scheduled for November 17 through November 19 in the Central Library’s Conference Center.
Check it out!

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Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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