Books to Prisoners began as a project of the Left Bank Books Collective. Now Left Bank Books is one of our store partners for the Prison Banned Books Week (PBBW) matched new book drive, September 15 - 28.
Adrian shares what makes the store so special that they work there for free.
How did you get involved with LBB?
— I got involved with Left Bank Books as a volunteer for a three-hour shift on Saturdays while I was working full-time at my former job. I wasn’t sure if I would ever get a call back as it was a bit intimidating to be in the space then so I wasn’t confident about even applying, but my boyfriend at the time coaxed me into it—that was in 2010, and all these years later, I’m so grateful that he did.
What makes LBB different from other independent bookstores in Seattle?
— What makes Left Bank different is definitely the selection. We used to have our fiction in our front room right as you walk in, but a few years ago we switched around the layout and sections of the store to make the areas of interest we are more known for front and center (and put fiction in the back): studies in queer, trans & gender, feminist, BIPOC, disabilities, environmental, labor & economics, prisons/prison abolition, activism, US politics & sociology, and of course anarchism.
How has LBB changed in the time you've worked there? How would you like to see it change in the future?
— One pretty big difference is that the shop is all queer and trans owned now, as a shop “owned and operated by its workers” as the old wooden sign behind our counter says. Another big difference is that our inventory used to all be through a card catalog, which I liked for how it felt like almost being a librarian and also being offline, but then—through the intellectual and emotional efforts of a former member—it was able to move into being a fully-functioning digital database. Despite my skepticism on technology, it has been a big game changer, having seen the positive differences it has made for the success and future of Left Bank.
How has LBB managed to adapt and survive in an environment dominated by internet booksellers and national chains?
— The location of the shop, in a high-foot traffic/tourist area in Pike Place Market, is part of why it has been able to last as long as it has, that continual presence in the midst of a city rapidly and aggressively changing. Putting our inventory online through our website has also helped, a move we made during the first year of the pandemic. It hasn’t meant more of our sales are done online by any means, but it has thrust us more into “today’s world” as a business model without losing the soul of the shop and what makes us weird.
How does LBB interact with its physical community? Its cultural community?
— This is an ongoing conversation that I have been involved and/or witness to for years, usually done at our monthly meetings. Recently it has come down to: how can Left Bank be more than a bookstore, and how can we exist as an entity outside of that? Yes, we do sell books in spaces outside of the shop for different authors and events, knowing the limitations of that, so what would it look like and mean if we were involved in the community as the face of the project without that, yes, consumerist component to what we do? Other than some direct aid we have done recently for people coming into our shop, and turning what was a display case into a community board for people to post flyers and events, we are still exploring what those questions could mean in practice and in action for the near future.
Is there anything else you want the readers of our newsletter to know about LBB?
— We turned fifty-one in July,, and you are never obligated to buy anything to “pay us a visit.” Our store isn’t accessible for wheel-chairs other than our front room, and though we do have three air purifiers and multiple fans going, we are still a dusty shop in an old building, so remaining scent-free is not something we can guarantee. We offer masks, and as of today, we are still requiring them. If that changes, we will update our signage and social media to let people know.
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