Bookends & Beginnings will open a pop-up used bookstore in a vacant storefront just down the street from its 1620 Orrington Ave. shop in downtown Evanston, Ill. Called Middles Used Books--"because we already have the book 'ends' and the 'beginnings' "--it is set to launch in early October at 1630 Orrington Ave., Evanston RoundTable reported.
Owner Nina Barrett said the addition is a way for the bookstore to expand its capacity for the underserved used book market: "This is going to give us a greater ability to accept and carry used stock, and fill a void in downtown Evanston."
Bookends & Beginnings has been offering book trade-ins for years, and when it moved to Orrington Ave. in 2023, the store dedicated a room to used books, but the demand is high for a larger space.
"People bring us a household full of books if they're downsizing, or maybe they've lost a relative who had a big collection of books," Barrett noted. "Unfortunately, there's a very small percentage of that we can take because we just don't have room for it."
The expansion coincides with the hiring of Jessica Fisher, the store's used book buyer. "Jessica came to us at just the right time," Barrett said. "She has the experience we were looking for, and it's great that she'll have all this new space to play with."
Bookends & Beginnings won't pay cash for books, but will offer trade credit that can be used on purchases. Books can be donated, too. The store is especially looking for "larger, single-subject collections, e.g., history, art, cooking, etc."
Barrett added, "We're piloting the concept to see if it has legs. I think since Market Fresh Books closed [in 2019], there's been an unmet need. A lot of students shopped there, and people went there looking for bargains.... There's been a void in downtown Evanston since they went away, and we hope this will help to fill it. Of course it's not the whole focus of what we do, but if we can make it work, I think it will be great for downtown Evanston to have used books again."