▶ KWANG HYUN
@KansanNews
The Dusty Bookshelf, the buy-and-sell bookstore located on 7th and Massachusetts, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
The store opened its Lawrence location in 1996, eleven years after their first store, located in Manhattan, Kan. opened.
Amanda Barker, the manager of The Dusty Bookshelf, has been working at the Lawrence location for over seven years. She said that while they have been very busy this summer and aren't doing much for the anniversary, they did try to show their appreciation.
"The summer has come around and we are kind of trying to keep above water since so many books are coming in," she said. "We did work hard to put up a kind of 'thank you' love note that we put up in our window for our customers to read and for people on the street to see when they pass by," said Barker.
Barker said some of her proudest moments are when she persuades customers to read different things or convinces non-readers to try something new and they enjoy the recommendation.
"I love working here, and just experiencing the different sorts of people that come through. My favorite memories have to do with funny interactions I've had with customers, and really great recommendations that have been made that have led customers to new favorites and new experiences," said Barker. "A lot of people aren't readers, but a lot of people just haven't discovered that they like to read. So I like to take part in that
discovery."
Laura Bilhimer is a regular customer at The Dusty Bookshelf. She said she enjoys the location and the selection.
"I love the Dusty Bookshelf because the quality of books and the variety always has been the same. The prices always have stayed very reasonable," said Bilhimer. "[I enjoy] finding really unusual things that you won't find online because you can't look for them specifically...[there are] old weird things that you can only find here."
Holly Hurley, a clerk at
The Dusty Bookshelf, said that some of her favorite memories come from Halloween.
"My favorite time here is Halloween because all of the kids get to come to downtown dressed up. The whole staff gets to dress up and we get to hand out the candies. It is seriously the happiest day to be here," said Hurley.
The Dusty Bookshelf has a unique attribute in Dinah, the store cat. After Alice, their resident cat, passed away in 2014 at 16, the owners adopted Dinah from the Lawrence Humane Society and she has
been the face of the Dusty Bookshelf ever since.
"We named her after Alice's cat in Alice in Wonderland so she could have a sweet name, but also remind us of Alice, who lived here for so long," Barker said. "She's great. She's ornery and she's kind of trouble, but she is a sweet girl and we really love her."
The Dusty Bookshelf seeks to remain in the Lawrence and Manhattan area. They currently have no plan to expand according to Barker.