Village Books Evolves
From Fourth Corner View, Bellingham, WA Spring 2004
by Cathy Belben
The ideal bookstore, for most readers, feels a lot like home, with people who offer friendly greetings, room to move and grow, and comfortable places to relax. Since it was founded in 1980 by Chuck and Dee Robinson, Village Books has steadfastly remained a home for readers of all ages. Bellingham’s largest independently owned and operated bookseller, Village Books is billed as “Whatcom County’s Bookshop for Browsing.” The store has grown considerably in the nearly twenty-five years since first opening near its current location on Eleventh Street in Fairhaven. At its inception, Village Books was only as big as an average-sized house—about 1500 square feet—and maintained an inventory of only about 5000 volumes. Now the 7500 square foot store has an inventory of 50,000 books, a reflection of a growing community and of the store’s impact on Bellingham residents and visitors, but hasn’t lost its comfortable, welcoming atmosphere.
“I started going there when I was in second grade,” recalls Bellingham High School English teacher Clete Smith. “It was mostly my love of books that brought me to the store, but the schoolboy crush I had on the college girl that worked at the front counter played its part as well.” As he grew older, Smith continued to frequent Village Books, eventually becoming so familiar with the young adult collection that bookstore employees would often ask him to recommend books for customers. Like Smith, thousands of Bellingham readers have grown up with Village Books over the last two decades, experiencing literature with its books, author readings, and community outreach.
Just as its readers have grown, Village Books is in the midst of a major change. Owners Chuck and Dee Robinson are in the midst of expanding their store and moving from their current location to a larger space just two doors away. “We’ve been talking about it for about six years,” Chuck Robinson says. “Part of the decision was driven by how crowded it gets during the holidays.” The 2004 holiday season should be much less crowded, as the current plans call for the new Village Books to be completed by Ebenal Construction this September. The new three-story building at the corner of Eleventh and Mill, owned by the Ebenal Corporation, will include a 500-600 square foot lower level overlooking the Village Green, a main floor twice as large as the store’s present footprint, and a mezzanine. The entire building will house the bookstore, Paper Dreams gift store, and the Colophon Café.
Bellingham residents are excited about the new and improved Village Books. Carol Wintercorn, librarian at Squalicum High School, says she’s looking forward to “better space for author visits and signings,” adding that the current space in the store’s basement “feels a little claustrophobic.” The Robinsons have heard this plea from fans of their popular Literature Live series of author readings and community literary events. Currently, the store features over 250 such events a year, including visits from well-known writers such as Rick Bragg, Sherman Alexie, Elizabeth Berg, and Ruth Ozeki, as well as local community readings, bookstore reading groups, and numerous discussion groups. By removing a wall between the current building and the new one, this presentation area will grow by “probably 200 square feet,” Robinson says.
Through the years, Village Books’ growth has meant sacrificing some of the reading areas that were once a part of the store, and the Robinsons are glad that this feature will be a part of the new space. “I like that it’s o.k. to read the materials without being harassed about buying them,” says WWU graduate Blythe Bodman, a library assistant. “I’d love it if there were more cushy chairs and sofas to sit in there.” Chuck and Dee confirm that their new store will fulfill Blythe’s wish—and the wish of many other readers who’ve made the same request. “There will definitely be some of that,” Chuck says. He adds, “We’re looking forward to the store being more accessible. There will be more open space and an elevator.” The new, larger store will feature a 500-600 square foot basement section that overlooks the Village Green, a main floor approximately twice the size of the current main floor, and a mezzanine. Although the Colophon Café and Village Books will still be connected, the new store will also feature its own café on the mezzanine level.
Bellingham resident Cameron Munro says he’d like to see a larger children’s book section, as well as “an expanded fiction section and increased browsability.” Robinson says, “Our children’s section will be better configured and more useful.” He says that the inventory will change some. “Some sections are terribly overcrowded for the store. They’ll be more accessible in the new store.” And because they adjust their inventory according to what sells, it’s difficult to say exactly which areas will be larger in the new store. “There are some sections that will be expanded,” Robinson says. Wider aisles, more open areas, and the fact that the main floor is open to the mezzanine will also add space to the store.
A few years back, Chuck Robinson says, readers were surveyed regarding what they like about the store and what they’d like to see changed. Many people said they’d like the store to keep its wood floors and brick walls, Robinson notes, and then laughing, says the floors in the store are actually carpeted, and there’s only a small area with brick walls exposed. “I think what they were telling us,” he says, “Is that they didn’t want to lose the Fairhaven funky feel of the store.” He assures readers that they are not going to lose that atmosphere. “We’re even moving the fixtures,” he says. “And ironically, the new store will have wood floors,” he laughs. “It’s not going to be a chrome-and-glass building.” And yes, even despite the new floors, Village Books will still have its dogs-on-leashes-welcome policy.
Bellingham is home to thousands of readers—some who’ve been Village Books customers since childhood, like Clete Smith, and others, like Tara Stevens, who discovered the store when they moved to town. Stevens and her husband, Scott, a WWU professor, wandered into the store on a visit to town before they moved here. She says, “We admired the tables piled with staff picks, the creaky floors, and the speaker series…we could immediately tell that Village Books was the heart of Fairhaven.” Carol Wintercorn also discovered the store when she and her family relocated. “I sought out an independent bookstore to use in determining whether this community was a reader’s kind of place. I was pleasantly surprised by the what I found in Village Books. I loved the used book section, knowledgeable staff, and great service.”
Luckily for Clete, Tara, Scott, and Carol, and the thousands of other Bellingham residents and visitors who relax and read at Village Books, the characteristics of the store they’ve grown to love will only improve when the Robinsons move their operation two doors north. Increased inventory, a larger presentation space, comfortable places to browse and read, and the continued proximity of the Colophon Café will insure that Village Books remains, as Tara Stevens says, “the heart of Fairhaven.”