Since September, we have also received indispensable guidance from Prof. Carlos Teaucher, director of the Transaction Clinic at Suffolk University School of Law. Carlos and his two students — Elizabeth West and Tyler Dolan — have been an invaluable resource, drafting a detailed and thoughtful set of Bylaws that will soon become the governing documents of Rozzie Bound Co-op, Inc.
Friends of the Roslindale Branch Library
During the last two years, we have developed Community Partnerships with several local schools and non-profits. Fittingly, the most robust of these partnerships has without question been with the Friends of the Roslindale Branch Library. Friends treasurer Talia Whyte has helped us curate over a dozen virtual shelves, including holidays shelves for readers of all ages and shelves to celebrate Black History Women’s History, Hispanic Heritage, Asian-American Heritage, and LBGTQ+ Pride. These shelves have helped us highlight diverse voices and BIPOC authors. This Fall, the Roslindale Book Ambassador program became a joint effort of Rozzie Bound and FRBL, with great support from Friends volunteers, Constance Martin and Greg Tobin.
Other Community Partners
In addition to FRBL, we have developed partnerships with several great organizations and look forward to deepening these relationships in the coming year. Special thanks to:
Roslindale Village Main Streets
Another Rozzie Bound booster has been our local Main Streets organization, which has given us countless shout outs in their newsletter and on social media. Special thanks to
Anna VanRemoortel - community manager
Tess McColgan - former community manager
Steve Marcelin - farmer’s market manager
Alia Forrest Hamada - former executive director
Laura Charles - interim executive director
Local Business Partners
We have also received support and guidance from several top notch local business owners:
Our Book Ambassadors
We love our local authors! A shout out our five great writers (and one City Councilor) who served as Book Ambassadors in 2021:
Bookseller Mentors
Indie booksellers are incredibly generous with their time, invariably willing to share their thoughts and lessons learned about the book trade. During the last two years, we have had helpful conversations with booksellers from across the country. There are too many to list them all here, but I want to make sure to highlight a few standouts:
Bookshop.org
When Covid hit, we canceled our pop ups in the Substation (anyone remember those?) and tacked online to our Bookshop site, which enabled us to serve customers through the pandemic. Bookshop has been an invaluable resource. Particular thanks go to Sarah High for responding to a prodigious amount of queries and suggestions for improving the site. Thanks also to Andy Hunter, Bookshop’s founder, for taking the time to discuss the ever exciting topic of inventory management!
Trade Associations
The book industry is well-organized, with great events, webinars, and useful resources for booksellers. Daniel O’Brien, senior membership manager at the American Booksellers Association, has supported our efforts to form a support network of cooperative bookstores. Thanks also to Ali Schmelzle, marketing manager at the New England Independent Booksellers Association and Beth Ineson, executive director of NEIBA, who took time to talk with us about the role of volunteerism in the book trade.
We hope to see you in the New Year!
We have connected with a lot of folks this year through phone, email, and of course Zoom! We are so grateful for all the resources, ideas, and support we have received from a multitude of people and organizations. We look forward to a time when we can gather in person in a vibrant new community bookstore in the heart of Roslindale! If we continue to work together in a spirit of collaboration and cooperation, we can make it happen. We hope you have a joyful and restful holiday season (with some good reading time of course) and wish you all the best for 2022!