The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians: True Stories of the Magic of Reading

Higgins works as a store manager for the chain bookstore Barnes & Noble in Dothan, Alabama. They have always enjoyed reading as a form of escapism, and although they are naturally introverted, their mentors at the store empowered them to be more outgoing in discussing books with fellow staff and customers. As a manager, Higgins tries to support their employees in the same way and is proud to see new hires coming out of their shells. They recall a wonderful vacation visiting bookstores in Dallas with their friends. Bookstores feel like safe spaces to many people, and booksellers are part of a supportive community.

Greene works as a general manager for the chain bookstore Books-A-Million in Vero Beach, Florida. She has been working as a bookseller for 20 years after leaving a 25-year-long career in banking, and she has made friends with authors, regular customers, and seasonal visitors. Her three loves are books, people, and dealing with money, so working at the bookstore is perfect for her. She particularly enjoys recommending books and designing endcaps for shelves. Greene knows that customers are conscious of prices but emphasizes the importance of shopping local to prevent stores from closing.

Hernandez is the supervising librarian for Jail and Prison Services at the Brooklyn Public Library in New York. As a child, he learned English by reading the Harry Potter books and went on to studied Library Science in Canada. Hernandez now provides library services to prisoners in Rikers, one of the largest and most violent prisons in the world. Prisoners are normal people made restless by stress and hardship. They have a right to access books and research materials like anyone else and are in particular need of that form of escapism. Hernandez loves that library programs can make such a significant positive impact in people’s lives—for example, their “Daddy & Me” and “TeleStory” programs, which allow incarcerated parents to bond with and support their children from behind bars. Hernandez describes a typical day of “cart duty” delivering books to prisoners since there’s no standing library in Rikers. During the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns, prisoners were grateful to receive mail order books through their library tablets at a time when they felt that the outside world had otherwise forgotten them.

Beach is the founder, owner, and operator of the only bookstore in Queens, New York, Astoria Bookshop. Beach worked with the publishers Simon & Schuster before opening her bookstore with generous guidance from the welcoming community of New York booksellers. She enjoys tailoring her store to meet the needs of the diverse Queens community and seeing how new members of staff contribute to the store’s range and specialties. Beach puts significant effort into supporting and promoting local authors.

Moore works as an adult services librarian for the public library in Dallas-Fort Worth in Texas. She has fond memories of being read to and reading books throughout her childhood and adolescence before burning out while studying English Literature in college, only to fall back in love with reading years later. She allows her sons to read whatever they choose when visiting the local library and finds that the two boys have very different tastes in literature. Moore graduated with a master’s degree in library science at age 50, and she enjoys matching patrons with the right books for them and building meaningful relationships with regulars. She believes that public libraries are a public good and that all good librarians are naturally curious and helpful.

Strong is a store manager for the chain bookstore Barnes & Noble in Green Bay, Wisconsin. She began working at the store as a college graduate and knew immediately that bookselling was her vocation. She started a young adult book club to encourage shy young people who came to the store to share their enthusiasm for books with each other. She is very glad that young people are so excited about books, often as a result of social media posts or BookTok recommendations. Encounters with customers have affirmed Strong’s belief that bookstores are places where customers can find an escape, guidance, and healing.

Wasmer is the co-owner and operator of Copper Dog Books in Beverly, Massachusetts. They enjoy helping with customer requests and providing book recommendations, although running a business is exhausting and involves a lot of data analysis. Wasmer believes that children should be encouraged to read whatever excites them, which is often media tie-ins. As a child, they were themselves obsessed with Star Wars novels, which eventually led them to other sci-fi stories and a love of books in general.

Bursaw owns the independent bookstore Mystery Mike’s in Carmel, Indiana. He began in the bookselling industry at age 15, opened the store in 1986, and is starting to relax his go-getter attitude only now in his 70s. Mystery Mike’s specializes in reselling mystery novels, particularly collectables, first editions, signed copies, and early pioneers of the genre. Bursaw seeks out such books like a treasure hunter in public library sales and estate sales across the country, and he recalls a particular instance when he bought 7,000 rare mint condition books from the widow of a deceased book collector.

Marks works as a youth services program director at the public library in Cleveland, Ohio. She focuses on giving the community access to books and resources that it needs and is always looking to promote work by writers of color. The library functions as a research center for young people, educators, and parents, and Marks runs frequent engagement activities such as reading challenges. She organizes regular “empowerment events,” where local schoolchildren get to hear famous authors speak while receiving a free meal and signed books. One notable event was held in the rainforest exhibit at the local zoo, while another saw families guided through a park by a local author on a winter “story walk.”

Barrett is the owner and operator of the independent bookstore Bookends & Beginnings in Evanston, Illinois. She opened the store in the former location of the famous bookstore Bookman’s Alley following the latter’s closure in 2013 before relocating in 2023 due to a sudden rent increase. Barrett has a “restless” and varied career history, having previously worked in publishing, wrote reports for the Literary Guild book club, studied journalism, trained and worked as a chef, and worked part time at a bookstore while raising her children. At Bookends & Beginnings, she finally feels settled.

Petrocelli is the octogenarian president and co-owner of the independent bookstore The Book Passage, which has two locations in and around San Francisco, California. She opened the bookstore in 1976 after she became burnt out from raising children while working as the assistant director of an educational nonprofit. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the store hosted 900 in-person events per year, including classes, conferences, and writing courses. During lockdown, Petrocelli orchestrated the hugely popular online series Conversations with Authors.