Bookstock Spreads the Love for Books and Literacy in Michigan
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“You can get any book you want online,” said Roz Blanck, co-founder of Bookstock. “You know what you want, go online, get it.” But getting books at Bookstock, according to Blanck, is “an experience.”
“I started seeing it as an experience when people started bringing their kids, their families, their grandparents, their great grandparents,” she said.
What is Bookstock?
Bookstock is a mega used book sale and an Event with a capital E in Livonia every spring. Blanck and co-founder Jodi Goodman have assembled a legion of volunteers who spend the better part of the year sorting and readying hundreds of thousands of donated, gently used books, which are then displayed on long tables throughout the corridor of Laurel Park Place mall.
It’s a sale so big, you need a map (you’ll find them dispersed on the tables). The deals are unmatched – even online – with most items priced between $1 and $6. And you can feel good about your purchase because proceeds support local literacy programs.
The annual sale started over 20 years ago, but somehow I missed it until 2022. That’s the year my mom heard about it and asked me if I wanted to join her. I agreed, not because I had any intention to buy books, but because I’m getting older, which means so is my mom, and I want to take advantage of opportunities to spend time with her.
Now we look forward to Bookstock every April.
Experiencing Bookstock
When we arrived for our first Bookstock, we found the mall bustling with a diverse range of book browsers carrying the sale’s distinctive totes. Shoppers leaned against blue-cloth-covered tables, heads bent down, fingers flipping through pages of hard bounds and paperbacks. The earthy aroma of aging wood pulp filtered through the air.
Endless Options
My mom and I have different reading interests, so she headed to the fiction section while I perused the nonfiction tables.
I followed my current interests and found a category for each: crafting, language, and traveling. Then there was self-help, parenting, children’s books, history, comics, spirituality, and cookbooks. They even had CDs, DVDs, records, and sheet music.
I scoped out every section and dug through many of them. Then, I noticed other shoppers pulling boxes from under the tables to find even more books. It seemed a little overzealous until I saw the sale’s volunteers, in their tell-tale aprons, encouraging people to search for their coveted titles in the backstock.
My favorite part was the special selections room. An unoccupied storefront was transformed into a gold mine of rare titles, special editions, and beautiful sets. These books were priced a little higher, but still a bargain.
An Abundance of Finds
When my mom and I met again, we both had accumulated a stack. A helpful gentleman handed us red tote bags to carry our books as we browsed for more. It was like being welcomed into a family.
The volunteers working at checkout encouraged us to return during the week because they restocked the books daily. Anything not sold by the end is donated to local non-profits so each year, the sale starts with all new books.
If you love searching for new-to-you treasures, check out 9 BEST Michigan Towns for Antiquing.
Origins of Bookstock
“It’s the ultimate recycling project,” said co-founder Goodman, “because you’re taking people’s books that are just sitting there collecting dust and they get a new home and hopefully they’re read again.”
It all started in 2003 when Blanck, looking for a project to tackle, heard about a similar annual book sale that was ending. She took the idea to Goodman, a fellow parent at her child’s school, and they organized the sale as a PTO fundraiser.
That first year was a successful four-day affair, but many books were leftover, Goodman said. In year two, they extended the sale, which required more help. The Oakland Literacy Council provided additional volunteers and received a portion of the proceeds in return.
Bookstock has partnered with dozens of other literacy-focused nonprofit organizations since who have shared over $3 million in proceeds.
Stories of Bookstock
“We have lots of stories over the 20 years,” Blanck said. Strange items found hidden between book pages, rare titles found against the odds, and goodwill generated by human beings over and over again.
Supporting Teachers
Bookstock volunteer Susi Schoenburger met one couple who, for several years, would drive over an hour to attend, despite never buying any books.
Instead, in honor of their granddaughter, who was studying education, they handed envelopes to the volunteers and asked that they be distributed to teachers who came to the sale. The envelopes contained a note of appreciation for their work and money they could spend on books.
Checkout workers then found out which customers were teachers and delivered the gifts. “So many started crying,” said Schoenburger. “They were so touched, just to be recognized.”
“That’s what Bookstock does,” she said. “It brings out the best in people.”
A Fateful Find
One year, while packing up the sale and clearing garbage from under the tables, Goodman found a little rectangle of paper face down on the floor and flipped it over.
“My grandfather, who passed away when I was in college, it was his business card,” she said. “It was bizarre. I mean, he had died 20 years before the sale.” She thinks a distant cousin’s book collection must have made its way to Bookstock, with the card tucked inside one of the items. “And I picked it up, and I’m like, ‘okay, he’s watching from above. I’m glad I’m here.’”
The Future of Bookstock
Bookstock celebrated its 20th sale in 2024. After so many years working with literacy-focused organizations, Goodman said they have seen “there is a great need for more resources.” They hope to continue to grow and increase partnerships to boost their support of those literacy programs.
“But you need time,” Blanck said. “We’re all volunteers, so we don’t have the time to do that.” She’d like to hire staff to run some of the day-to-day work to free herself and others to expand the programs as well as for sustainability as volunteers age or move on.
Those volunteers tend to be dedicated and invested, because as Schoenburger said, “It’s a feel-good project.”
“It’s really a win-win-win,” Blanck agreed.
Support Local Literacy with Bookstock
Anyone interested in helping out or learning more should visit the website for contact information and follow Bookstock on social media. Wrangling all those books takes a lot of volunteers, so reach out if you want to lend a hand.
Have books to donate? You’ll have multiple drop-off opportunities beginning in the fall.
And mark your calendars for Bookstock in 2025: next year’s sale dates are April 27-May 4. I’ll be there with my mom. You should bring your kids, your grandparents, and your friends, and experience the way Bookstock can bring out the best in people as it brings them together.