Words & Photography by Shyler Umphenour
Bookstores in the 49th state are more connected with one another and with the community than people realize. Around the country, independent bookstores and the books shape a person, community, and a region. This means they create something more meaningful just a place to buy books. In Alaska, the bookstores, used and new, that are speckled throughout the Last Frontier are all connected, from the books to the people.
Forget-Me-Not Used Bookstores take their book sales to support the nonprofit organization Literacy Council. Through donations from the community, the store runs on the love of giving. “This is even more than just a bookstore because we’re working with so many people from the community, employing people from the community, from different programs. And the fact it gives back to the Literacy Council is just a plus,” said bookstore manager Vicki Lekov.
The Noel Wien Library in Fairbanks opened their own used bookstore in the building. Planning to open up the store doors in June, the library listened to the community with the addition of the store.
The women-led bookstores in the Kenai Peninsula helped each other start their local bookstores, sharing their knowledge rather than the words in the books. Peggy Mullen with River City Books had help from Homer Bookstore in starting her own business. Twenty-five years later, she is helping a new store in Seward open its door, Dreamland Books & Yarn.
Andrew Wills, the owner of Old Inlet Bookstore in Homer, took advantage of the dying spruce trees in the ’90s and created a place to replicate home for him. “That way I can hang out with my folks, even though I’m 5,000 miles away,” Andrew said.
The Writer’s Block Bookstore and Cafe in Anchorage transformed a space to bring a new meaning to a previously rundown area of town. Now it’s a center for more than books and coffee — it’s one of creation, sharing, and connecting.
Books and the people who sell them carry more weight than helping you find the perfect book. The bookstores in Alaska help shape people and the community they live in. In Books in the Last Frontier, Shyler Umphenour connected with bookstores around the state to share their stories and love for books and people.
Read more at https://booksinthelastfrontier.wordpress.com/
True North is a publication of the University of Alaska Anchorage Department of Journalism and Public Communications. It has been published since 1995.