Several months ago, our local used bookstore, Cross Street Books, was shut down by the City for various code violations. This led to a spirited conversation here on the site, during which almost everyone, regardless of how they felt about Cross Street Books, seemed to agree that, in order to have a thriving downtown, Ypsilanti needed a functional used bookstore. Toward that end, two primary ideas surfaced. Ben Miller suggested that the community come together to help Sheridan, the owner of Cross Street Books, thin his collection and bring his store back to code, and Richard Murphy suggested that we consider starting a new, cooperatively-owned bookstore to satisfy the currently unmet need. Both ideas were vigorously debated, and, ultimately, it was decided that all interested parties should get together to hash things out in person. And that’s exactly what we’ll be doing tonight (December 2) at the Ypsi Senior Center (1015 North Congress).
[If you know of people who you think may be interested, feel free to point them toward our Facebook event listing.]
As for what will come of the meeting, I’m not sure. I suspect, even if we decide that a cooperative bookstore isn’t feasible, that something good will come of the conversation. With dozens of passionate, bright people in the same room together talking about cooperative business structures, the kinds of businesses we’d like to see downtown, and the prospect of working together to make positive things happen, how could it not?
My sense, having watched things develop online, is that people would like to seriously explore the idea of either a worker-owned cooperative bookstore or a customer-owned cooperative bookstore downtown, so long as the presence of such a business wouldn’t negatively impact either Cross Street Books or the Black Stone African American culture shop, which carries books by black authors. I’m of the opinion that those risks could be overcome, as Sheridan could certainly participate in an endeavor like the one being discussed, and as we could coordinate with Black Stone, which doesn’t sell used books, but I look forward to debating the issue along with everyone else.
As for what I’d like to see us accomplish at the meeting, I think we first we need to decide whether or not there’s sufficient interest in a cooperative (given the issues outlined above). Then, assuming there is, we need to collectively decide what we’d want said entity to look like. (Might there be a press associated with it? Could there be an all-ages performance space? Could there be zines?) And, after that, we need to determine what data we’d need in order to make an informed decision as to whether or not it would make sense to move forward, scout spaces, write a business plan, etc. (I don’t think I’m alone when I say that I’d rather not invest my time in a project unless I know there’s a good likelihood that it would be sustainable. This means that we’ll likely have to do extensive surveying of people in the area, as well as a comprehensive benchmarking of other successful bookstore cooperatives around the country, etc.)
Here’s what I have in mind for the agenda. If you have thoughts, please let me know.
AGENDA:
Setting expectations:
While it’s the idea that brought most of us here tonight, a local bookstore co-op may not result from this meeting… There’s a good likelihood that even if it doesn’t, though, something good will come of our being together, talking about the possibility of creating something positive downtown that makes our community stronger, more interesting, and more self-sufficient… With the exception of a short video on cooperative business structures, no formal presentation is planned. This is just going to be an open, free-form conversation… If it makes sense at some point, we can split up into smaller groups and discuss different opportunities… We have until 9:00.Introductions:
10-seconds each… Share your name and one thing about you pertinent to tonight’s discussion.Current situation:
Ypsi has Cross Street Books, which is currently out of business pending the correction of several code violations, and Black Stone, which focuses exclusively on non-used books by black authors.Starting point:
Can we agree that Ypsilanti could benefit from a thriving independent bookstore which seeks to be central to community life? Can we also agree that no one wants to diminish in any way current businesses that we have in our downtown? Can we furthermore agree that there’s a common desire to see more community-owned, and worker-owned business in Ypsilanti?What are the attributes that you’d like to see in a new downtown business?
Generally speaking, what adjectives come to mind when you imagine a successful, thriving local business that contributes significantly toward the betterment of our community?If there were to be a new cooperative business downtown, what could it be?
We should probably begin our discussion broadly by exploring the parameters of what this thing we’re discussing could possibly be… While we can’t possibly do everything, it’s probably good to just get all of the ideas out in the open from the outset… Could there be a community press associated with it? Does it even have to be a bookstore? Could this business carry housewares? How about clothing? Could partnerships and alliances be had with the likes of 826 Michigan? Could there be an all-ages venue associated with it? Could there be new books as well as used? Could we partner with Black Stone to mutually highlight stock and leverage audience? Could there be zines? Could we sell the work of local artists? Could we do online sales? What else should be on the table?What are the business models available to us?
Worker-owned cooperative? Customer-owned cooperative? Traditional for-profit? Non-profit? How are they different? What are the features and benefits of each? (At this point, we can show the video about co-ops.)What is the minimum viable product?
Let’s begin with what what we might be able to prove the concept with… If it’s simply a bookstore that we want, what could we get by with? How many books? How much space? How many hours a week open? How many staff hours?Who should we talk with, and what questions should we ask?
We’ve already reached out to Seminary in Chicago, The Big Idea in Pittsburgh, and Rainbow in Madison. Seminary is willing to talk at any time about their experiences. Are there others we should speak with? And what do we want from them?Next steps:
Survey of local residents as their shopping habits, unmet needs, etc? Business plan? Assessment of possible downtown locations? Public announcement of our status and intention? (How do we report on this meeting?) Fundraising? (Could we sell shares? Could we pre-sell store cards? Could we have weekend books sales at the farmers’ market to raise money and build awareness? Could we explore Kickstarter or other platforms?)
So, if you’d like to come out and join in the conversation, we’d love to have you.
And, if you’d like to bring a bag of chips, or a box of cookies to share, I think that would be pretty cool too.
