A new chapter in the life of Oakland’s beloved, three decades-old Bookmark Bookstore has begun. On June 15, the used bookshop – whose proceeds all go to support Oakland public libraries – opened its new location downtown in a historic space that’s bigger, brighter and, well, just bookier.
“The old building was deep and narrow and had a couple windows in front,” says Sven Geddes, Bookmark’s co-manager. “This one, we’re on the corner and get lots and lots of sunlight. It’s very bright and open with high ceilings. The building’s been renovated – it’s really nice.”
For folks who’ve never been, the Bookmark is a local institution known for its rock-bottom prices on publicly donated media like books, CDs, DVDs, comics and puzzles – way below typical used bookshops – as well as its philanthropic mission. Founded in 1992 by the Friends of the Oakland Public Library, which still operates it, the place is 95 percent volunteer-run and has donated over its lifetime more than $3 million to the Oakland Public Library.
The old Bookmark was located at 721 Washington St., and the new one is three blocks up the road at 933 Broadway in a historic building called the Delger Block, built circa 1880.
Geddes says the move just made sense. “There’s much better foot traffic over here – we’re a block from BART and on Broadway. Also we will hopefully be getting a (donation) door on the 10th Street side so we won’t have to do warehousing inside the store anymore.”
Visitors to the new Bookmark will notice a few changes. There’s a grand, wooden children’s shelf that a board member lovingly restored. And the shop has plans to augment its collection of 17,000-something pieces of physical media to include mysterious forms of literary “ephemera,” says Geddes.
The store had a huge sale before its move, but the collection is still incredibly large due to troves that were kept in a back room and a storage locker now making their way to display.
“We have lots of cheap, high-quality books,” says Geddes. “Most mass-market paperbacks are a buck or three for $2. Kids’s books are $2 to $5, trade paperbacks $4 to $6 and hardcovers $5 to $8.”
The Bookmark is in its soft opening right now, and plans to stage its grand opening toward the end of July.
Details: Open 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday at 933 Broadway, Oakland; fopl.org/the-bookmark.