Our Town Books celebrates national party to bring focus on small, independent bookstores
By Ben Cox
Photos Kyla Hurt
One day. Fifty states. Over 1,600 bookstores. Independent Bookstore Day is a one-day national party that takes place at indie bookstores across the nation on the last Saturday every April. Every store is unique and independent, and intricate to the fabric of each town they inhabit.
Our Town Books, located at 64 East Central Park Plz., has been a part of the Jacksonville downtown fabric since 2011 when it was founded by Jim and Sally Nurss. Now, current owner Khristina Helmich continues to expand the bookstoreʼs reach by participating in Independent Bookstore Day.
Authors M.S. Grace, Jo Salazar, Lauren Emily Whalen, Scott Grange and Allie Samberts, along with local writers Dr. Robert Seufert and J.D. Proffitt, were on hand to talk to readers and sign copies of their latest books on Saturday, April 26 in the bookstore.
Helmich says that the support for the independent authors is just as vital as supporting your local bookstore: “We were absolutely blown away by the support for [the authors]. We love bringing authors to our store. Indie authors are so incredibly vital to the world of books and the community did not disappoint.” Helmich says the good support helps bring popular authors back to the store and gets word to writers who have never visited to come to Jacksonville.
Our Town Books also had a fill-a-bag sale on the sidewalk and a number of bookstore day-only releases, similar to Record Store Day for music lovers. PAWS brought some furry friends for those looking to adopt a reading buddy, and Cloud Nine Aesthetics talked about their local health and beauty services offered in town. Patrons were encouraged to bring pet food donations as a part of a competition for an Our Town Books gift card.
Lines were down to the corner of East State Street starting before 9 a.m., with a steady stream of customers all day long. One lucky customer found a golden ticket for free audiobooks from Libro.fm for the year.
Visitors also got to take home some free swag and other Indie Bookstore Day-only merchandise if they made a purchase. In a world where online shopping and big box stores have made it easy to pick up your latest read, Independent Bookstore Day reminds readers that visiting your local bookstore and keeping your money local has good and fun consequences.
To order a book or if you have questions, contact Khristina Helmich at Our Town Books at 217-245-2665 or email ourtownbooks@gmail.com. You can also find them at ourtownbooks.com.
