Letters Bookshop in Durham, N.C., is transforming from a privately owned business to a community-supported cooperative. The store, founded in 2013 by Land Arnold, will become Letters Community Bookshop and is offering ownership shares priced at $116—a nod to the store's address at 116 W. Main Street. These shares come with voting rights and additional perks, including enrollment in a frequent buyer program, discounts on featured hardcovers, and a limited-edition tote bag. There’s also an investment opportunity for preferred shares in increments of $250 with a yearly dividend
”Being a small business in Downtown Durham now is difficult—especially on weekdays and during traditional business hours, as office workers and many festivals and events simply haven’t returned since the pandemic began,” Arnold said in a statement. “I believe a co-op is the best way to ensure a sustainable future for Letters and its staff, to build an even stronger reading community in Durham, and to strengthen a commitment to downtown."
William Page, general manager of the store said, added, "I hope the new model will help us shore up the things we already do well and continue to evolve alongside a shop community that's wider and, inherently, deeper."
The store is following the lead of several other bookstores with similar models, including Buffalo Street Books in Ithaca, N.Y., and Firestorm Books in Asheville, N.C..
Looking ahead, Letters Community Bookshop aims to continue the store's mission of selling books, fostering reading community, and providing space for literary events. The cooperative structure also emphasizes fair labor practices, including living wages and opportunities for staff profit-sharing and board participation.
“The next step in bookselling is to become a model not only of retail survival but of community-supported retail vitality,” Arnold said.
