While every day should be Independent Bookstore Day in Evanston, the holiday is officially celebrated on the last Saturday in April. Two local bookstores got caught up in the excitement this weekend and offered special events, sales and other perks to shoppers all day.
Bookends & Beginnings and Booked were both stops on the Chicagoland Book Crawl, which brought readers on a bus to stores throughout the city and suburbs. Nina Barrett, owner of Bookends & Beginnings, said the holiday has gotten bigger every year since it started in 2015.
“We’ve been participating in Independent Bookstore Day since the inception, so we’ve really grown up with it. This year there are over 1,000 stores participating nationwide, and close to 50 in the Chicagoland area alone,” said Barrett.
Barrett said the holiday does bring new customers in, and hopefully they will come back for another visit. “Independent Bookstore Day is a chance to really celebrate our customers and make a case for why it is important to have a place where you can go buy books instead of just ordering it online. Your local bookstore is a very unique place that has a ton of variety to offer, and the event gets people in the store so they can experience how different each one is,” said Barrett.
Customer Ashley Nalven didn’t know it was Independent Bookstore Day until she got inside Bookends & Beginnings, but said she tries to support local independent businesses as much as possible. “In a world so dominated by Amazon and other big companies, it feels nice to be able to shop at smaller stores and give back to our community,” she said.
At Booked, volunteers with Hive Center for the Book Arts led craft sessions, and the store offered a scavenger hunt, fairytale tarot readings and other activities. Co-owner Abby Dan said Independent Bookstore Day is a true community building event.
“This annual holiday is a great moment to celebrate all the reasons independent bookstores belong in communities. They are places where people, especially kids, can find books that are windows and mirrors to their experience, so they can build their empathy muscle and see the way other people live. People of all ages and backgrounds come, and it’s a lot of fun to see both new and regular customers participate,” said Dan.
Editor’s note: This article has updated to correct a name in a photo caption.