18 | ARTS
Westport Book Shop enriches community, provides support for Westport Public Library Julia Herlyn ’23 News Editor
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he Westport Book Shop, located in the heart of downtown Westport, is an inviting, intimate space, embellished with seasonal decorations, charming fairy lights and various pieces of local art. Although the book shop has only been operating since January 2021, it has quickly become essential to Westporters and other locals. “The book shop not only supports the Westport community, but it also supports the surrounding communities,” manager Katherine Caro said. “It’s a place for people to meet, but it’s also a place for people to find books at reasonable prices […] there is a book for everyone.” Offering used, antiquarian books, vinyl records, CDs, DVDs and audio books, the Westport Book Shop is the town’s only nonprofit bookstore. It works in collaboration with the nearby Westport Library through the library’s donations. Books that have been donated to the library are selected to be sold at the store based on their condition and/or potential appeal to readers. “It’s important to bring a book shop back to the community,” manager Ashley Wilson said. “It’s nice to have a book shop in the area, instead of everything being online or downloaded.” Since the book shop is a nonprofit enterprise, the revenue generated through book sales is contributed to the Westport Library, which is utilized to fund the programming and activities of the library. The book shop also places strong emphasis on providing employment and training opportunities, specifically to individuals with disabilities or “advancing abilities,” as described by Caro. “I like talking to people here, helping them find the books they want and helping organize the store,” employee Dylan Curran ’20 said. “[Working at the book shop] makes me feel happy and excited. I feel more connected to the people around here.” Community members–including Staples students like Tavan Bhatia ’23–can volunteer at the bookshop weekly, performing activities like ringing customers up, moving supplies and reviewing sales. “[Volunteering] is a good way to help out and feel like [you are] part of the community,” Bhatia said. “It’s a rewarding experience.” Looking forward, the Westport Book Shop hopes to continue serving Westport and neighboring communities, as well as attract more teenage customers. “I think that a lot of the high school kids don’t even know that we’re here or what we offer,” Caro said. “They could start creating their own library that they could use for book reports, research papers and to take to college [...] We want more people to know about us. That’s the goal for this book shop.”
