Nialle and the crew have begun construction on the new expansion to the shop. We have a Children's Room now, and it is very exciting. The cats are quite impressed as well... as impressed as cats can be, because they seem to enjoy hopping around and exploring the empty hand built pine cases as much as helping with the shelving. That is, cats are helpful by getting in the way and sitting on the shelf where books need to go.
Ah, cats.
Room is being made, progress as well, and our fabulous volunteers and co-workers are making the new addition pretty spectacular. We should be moving on to History in the next few weeks, making more room for US History and Military History, with bigger, sturdier cases, and 1000 more square feet of space. The space was bigger than I thought, and seeing it for the first time was kind of mind-blowing - you just never realize how much space is in one storefront until you see empty floors and shelves.
Ultimately, the move is bittersweet. Real Records is gone, and I miss the jazz and alternative pop / rock music piping in through the dividers. Craig and his crew brought something quite special to this space, and it was nice to share a book shop and a music shop, drawing people in to check the best of both worlds. However, it gains us so much more space, an opportunity to truly make this a massive, unique used book shop, right in the historic Northside District of Iowa City.
Bitter? Yes, because we've lost a great neighbor and a friend. Sweet? Yes, because we get to grow and redesign the layout and show Iowa City the best of what we can offer. It's a great opportunity, like so many things, and it's going to be a step in the right direction. I have a good feeling. It's bittersweet, but still good.
Until next week, fellow bibliophiles.
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