Bryan Loar is the new owner of Cover to Cover Children's Books in Columbus, Ohio.
Loar has been the bookstore's general manager since joining the team in 2019 and is now taking over from previous owner Melia Wolf. Prior to joining Cover to Cover, Loar had extensive experience as both a librarian and a bookseller.
On the bookselling side, he was a manager at a number of Barnes & Noble subsidiaries and was head of the children's department at the Borders Books & Music in Kauai, Hawaii. As a librarian, he worked for a global design firm as well as an executive search firm. He also co-founded the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Cbus Libraries.
"I'm excited to continue Cover to Cover's extraordinary legacy of serving children, the community, and educators," said Loar. "We look forward to growing our regional and national reach with events like the Columbus Book Festival, Ohioana Book Festival, and more."
"I'm honored to have been a part of the legacy of this amazing bookstore that has connected so many young readers to the joy of reading," said Wolf. "I am so happy that Cover to Cover will go forward and thrive with Bryan. There's no one more qualified, knowledgeable, and passionate to assure Cover to Cover's continued success."
Sally Oddi, who founded Cover to Cover 44 years ago, added: "Columbus has incredible library systems that foster younger readers, school systems that value children's literature, and parents and families who see family read-alouds as an integral part of their lives. I am thrilled to hear that Bryan will continue to have Cover to Cover connecting them all together."