Ithaca’s The Bookery to close after 45 years of business
Bookseller Mandy Goldman opened an antique cabinet to show a book printed in the early 1600s. The book, yellow, cracked and brittle with age, is one of the last books left on an almost-empty shelf of first-editions, but one of hundreds of books that are available during the closing sale at The Bookery, located in Dewitt Mall.
Mandy has worked on and off at the store since she graduated from Ithaca College in 2013. The store has been a staple of the community for 45 years. The Bookery is well-known for its eclectic collection of genres, including foreign language, architecture, science and art.
The books are all used, Mandy said, and entirely provided by community members looking to sell or donate old books. Mandy said the store once boasted a selection of books on Eastern philosophy and alternative healing because those genres were what people in Ithaca had to give the store.
“Things that the community was interested in — there’s a lot of inventory that represents that,” Mandy said. “The sections will grow and shrink based on the changing interests of the community, which I think is really interesting.”
Jack Goldman, no relation to Mandy, founded The Bookery in 1975 after a brief stint as a Cornell University graduate student. He established multiple community initiatives, like the Ithaca Freeskool, which aimed to give locals the chance to experience college-level courses for free. Jack also managed a literary publication called The Bookpress for 13 years. Mandy said she considered The Bookery another one of his community outreaches.
Mandy said she believes part of the reason Jack started the bookstore is because he loves literature and wanted to give people the chance to teach themselves as he teaches himself.
“He is … one of the most intelligent people I know, especially considering he is largely self-taught, he’s an autodidacte [self-educated person],” she said. “He can hang in with the greatest of scholars on literature, certainly.”
The store is closing for multiple reasons, Mandy said. For one, Jack has managed and worked in the store every day, six days a week. She said that after 45 years of working, he wants to retire. Mandy also mentioned the struggle of contending with Amazon and the online book market.
“The book industry is extremely difficult and taxing these days,” she said. “It’s not as profitable a business as it used to be.”
She said that while it has been difficult to compete with big names, the store contains books on specific topics one could never find elsewhere.
Customer David Mohler echoed the sentiment. He said he’s not sure where he’ll go for books now that the store is closing. He said he may turn to other used book stores in the area.
“But it’s not quite the same,” he said. “And the new bookstores in town don’t have the selection, especially in academic areas, like classics and other things.”
The shelves are half-empty as the inventory is sold off. Even the bookcases, many antiques, have been claimed. Once the majority of content is gone, The Bookery will close its doors. The staff of The Bookery is hoping to close the shop by the end of November. All inventory is 50% off, and the store is open from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Mohler said he will miss the store, both for its variety and for its longevity.
“It feels such an institution,” he said. “It’s part of our weekend routine. As a family, we come down, and the kids like to look around and my wife as well. We’re sorry to see that go.”
“I hope people remember it as a warm, comfortable space to indulge in learning,” Mandy said. “I really just want people to keep The Bookery in their thoughts the way that it was, back in the heyday with all the walls just stuffed with books.”
