- Citizens in Chelsea, Mich., rallied to support a local bookstore. More than 300 people formed a pair of human chains to transport 9,100 books from the old store to the new one. It took just two hours, much less time than using movers would have.
Even in small towns, big businesses typically win the battle against mom-and-pop stores. Their ability to offer lower prices and a much wider selection of products is hard to overcome. But every now and then, a town’s loyalty to a hometown operation wins out.
That pride in local ownership was on full display in Chelsea, Mich., this week when Serendipity Books was figuring out how to move its inventory from its old location to a new one, roughly a block away. To assist the owner, roughly 300 residents of the town came together to form a pair of human chains between the two locations, where books were passed down one by one, then put on the correct shelves in the new store.
@serendipitybooktok POV: your community shows up 300 strong to help move your ENTIRE BOOKSTORE around the corner to your new location. Today was so beautiful thank you Chelsea!!! 💗📚🤝 #fyp #bookbrigade #michiganbookstore #indiebookstore #booktok #shoplocal #community #serendipitybooks ♬ original sound – Serendipity Books
“It was a practical way to move the books, but it also was a way for everybody to have a part,” owner Michelle Tuplin told the Guardian. “As people passed the books along, they said ‘I have not read this’ and ‘that’s a good one.’”
The inventory transfer took about two hours, which is considerably less time than it would have taken the store to shut down, pack, move, and unpack the thousands of books otherwise. The books are already alphabetically organized on the shelves, thanks to the book brigade—and the store will reopen in its new location within two weeks.
Serendipity Books has been a fixture in Chelsea, which is located about 60 miles west of Detroit, since 1989. The move to the new location was announced in January and people quickly said they wanted to help in some way.
All totaled, the volunteers helped to move 9,100 books from store to store. Those volunteers ranged from the ages of 6 to 91.
“Community means a lot to people and it’s just really powerful to see it in action,” Tuplin told ABC.