Keep Bookends Going!

As we come up on the first anniversary of this Bookends, I want to share a little with everyone about the past year, present, and future of the store.

I never intended to have sole financial and predominant physical responsibility for Bookends - it was a surprise that happened immediately before closing and doubled my responsibility to the store. Since then, I have maintained the space, run most of the open hours, and hosted the shows predominantly by myself, more recently with Jon, and with volunteered help from my friends. That has looked like:

- Running sound for 116 musicians over the course of 42 shows,

- About a dozen readings, book launches, and open mics,

- Three instances of the only recurring dyke night in Western Massachusetts,

- A Hanukkah party, a Valentine’s Day party, a birthday party,

- Four reading groups

Bookends has grown into something far beyond a storefront, and I want to continue that by keeping up the readings and shows, continuing to offer the space to artists and orgs like DSA for craft fairs, reading groups, fundraisers, and table reads. We have always offered the space free of charge and have prided ourselves on giving the vast majority of the cover charge at shows to musicians. I have not paid myself for anything I’ve done at Bookends — all money that has come in to the store goes back into the community. I am proud Bookends broke even nine out of the past twelve months, but those numbers are precarious and I can’t keep up with the amount of (unpaid) work required of me to keep all those different projects in the air while also having the store open day-to-day for browsing.

It is an odd transition and perhaps an odd model to run a store that becomes not just and not really a store, but I believe in Bookends, I care about making that space available to people, and I am bolstered by every event and every person that has benefitted from it. At the same time, as we head into the second year, I want to be realistic and shift my focus to sustainability. Bookends won’t do anything for anyone if it can’t afford to exist, if I burn myself out on it, and if I don’t open the opportunity to the community to help financially, in labor, or even in a clearer, material sense of the state of it. In addition to keeping up with the existing demands of the space, fundraising from the community would do the following:

- Enable us to stay current on rent and utilities

- Allow us to replace the XLR cables, microphones, and stands that have disappeared after shows (accidentally, I’m sure, but we do need more!)

- Give us cash on hand to stock new books for more reading groups and acquire more curated inventory

- Have the store open more frequently

- Upgrade the sound system for the basement by adding monitors for the performers and hopefully someday a better PA all-around

- Continue to offer better door cuts than is industry standard for DIY venues/bars

- Offer more compensation for people’s time running events and store hours

Overall, it would allow for a sense of security and widen the bandwidth we all have for working on the store. (Maybe someday I could even pay myself!) I love Bookends, I want to see it continue, and I know many of you feel the same way! This fundraiser offers you an actionable way to support that, and I am deeply grateful for any and all support.

With Love,

Madden (and the rest of the Bookends family)