The Bookshop Co-op
Bringing books, literacy to Stevens Point
By Olivia De Valk
A new bookstore called “The Bookshop Co-op” aims to bring books and literacy to Stevens Point and its surrounding communities.
“Radical, but like in a good way.” That’s how Lyn Ciurro, secretary and member owner would describe The Book Shop. “Radical as in there’s so much more that can be done and there’s so much more that we need here.”
Cooperatively owned and run, The Bookshop Co-op was officially incorporated in November of 2020 and is run by nine dedicated member-owners who serve on the board.
Currently, the Bookshop has an online storefront hosted through Bookshop.org and is working towards opening a physical storefront as well as a mobile book shop.
At the center of the Bookshop’s mission is the strong belief in the power of books to start conversation.
Many of the Bookshop’s members experienced the kinds of conversations they are hoping to start with the community at large as members of a book club hosted by the Central Wisconsin Info Shop.
Clint Jones, board member, explained that at one point the book club was reading “Are Prisons Obsolete?” by Angela Davis and at the same time Stevens Point was considering a new jail.
“We were having a rich, layered, intense conversation about all of the reasons that was not good for the community,” Jones said. “We realized we could either preach to the choir or take this message out into the community.”
The Bookshop plans to host workshops that will offer community members a place to keep the conversation going.
“In every way we’re trying to be the opposite of Amazon,” Hailey Johnson, vice president, said. Johnson went on to explain that the Bookshop will curate books, recommend them to customers, and provide a space for customers to engage in critical literacy before, during, and after their reading.
Jones, Ciuro, and Johnson are working to make sure the Bookshop’s customers reach beyond people who think like they do – and that’s where the mobile book shop comes in.
The mobile shop would allow the Bookshop to bring a selection of books to rural areas with the hope of being able to spread these conversations to people who might not otherwise have access to these books.
“We’re actually working to actively expand interaction to help people find a book they didn’t know they needed and have thoughts they didn’t know they should have, especially around things like racial injustice, gender inequality,” Jones said.
The Bookshop is planning on opening their doors in June 2021. For more information, visit www.thebookshopcoop.com.