Congratulations to Buffalo Street Books, Ithaca, N.Y., which is celebrating the 10th anniversary of being a community-owned bookstore. The Ithacan reported that in February 2011, "a quarter-million–dollar community-led buyout took place, transforming the store into a community-owned workplace. For $250, Ithacans can buy a stake in the store, gain the opportunity to vote on policy decisions and run for the store's executive board."
The store was founded in 1991 as the Bookery II, referring to its former neighboring bookstore, the Bookery, and in 2009 was renamed Buffalo Street Books.
Manager Lisa Swayze said that by connecting with the Ithaca community through curating bookshelves with current events in mind--like its bookshelf highlighting Black female writers--and creating an event-heavy schedule, the store has found stability and success. Last month, Buffalo Street Books created bookshelves for the community with the Southside Community Center, and has held virtual events during the pandemic as well as expanding its website for ordering books.
"We fit a really unique place," Swayze said. "We are doing all of these things to strengthen our community that builds a culture of books and learning and literacy."
Bob Proehl, director of operations, added that he believes that after the pandemic the store has a purposeful future: "My hope is that it can come back to being a community place. That's always one of the aspects of it that's really dear to me, is the idea of the bookstore as a community space, as a third space, as a communal space."