After more than two years, the independent bookstore The Artsy Bookworm in Rock Island will be closing soon. The last day of business, at 1319 30th St., will be Jan. 20, 2024.
“When I opened the store, I knew that I wanted to find ways to support local authors and artists and serve a readership looking for books on LGBTQIA+, neurodiverse, and Black and Native American history, literature, and culture,” owner Tamara Felden said in a Wednesday press release. “Over the past three years, we learned a lot and I have gained a better understanding of what we hope to accomplish and how.”
“A small store cannot generate the revenue, even with a variety of additional events, to employ a sufficiently large staff to handle all the things we wanted to do,” she said. “We had to forgo some events, because we couldn’t staff them, and where we tried to do both, the demands created substantial stress for everyone, and we didn’t perform as well as we would have wanted to.”
The store (which opened in summer 2021) is not on a trajectory to become sustainable in the future, and 2023 revenue has been significantly below that in 2022 “in spite of our best efforts to increase sales,” Felden said. “But to be clear, we are closing the storefront, not the business.”
She knew that some difficult decisions had to be made, and she kept thinking about the old adage of community organizers — that one has to meet people where they are, the store release said. “It became clear that we couldn’t expect everyone to come to us. We need to be out there to meet them,” she said.
As The Artsy Bookworm and its work became better known in the community, collaborations followed that enhanced the goals Felden had set herself from the beginning. But that also brought challenges, as the need to staff a brick-and-mortar store and to arrange for and staff events away from the store began to compete against each other, she said.
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She and her staff — whom she describes as “absolutely wonderful” — will miss the store, the interaction with customers, and the many interesting conversations with friends and strangers alike, the release said.
While closing the storefront, the store will continue online sales of books, audiobooks, and yarn, and contact information will remain the same, Felden said.
“I very much hope that our customers will continue to support us and help us realize the vision they helped us create. I think of this as The Artsy Bookworm 2.0,” she said.
Remaining store hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays during the first three weeks in January. Used books are 60% off, and everything that’s not a book — including yarn and accessories — is 40% off, not including commissioned art and books by local authors.
“I know that you will miss the store and am sorry not to have better news to convey! But I am heartened by the fact that a variety of the Artsy Bookworm’s activities will continue,” Felden wrote in a Wednesday email to customers. “I look forward to seeing you at our future events and hope that you will continue to purchase books, audiobooks, and yarn from us online to support the many activities we have planned.”
“Where the opportunity arises, we will hold book fairs, and we will continue our work to support local authors and artists,” the email said. “We will continue to communicate with you through our email announcements and through social and traditional media.”
For a taste of things to come, visit The Artsy Bookworm booth and presentation at Progress Palooza in the Village Theatre (2113 E. 11th St., Village of East Davenport) on Jan. 20.
Contact information for The Artsy Bookworm stays the same: contact@theartsybookworm.com, (309) 558-0278, https://facebook.com/bookwormqc, and a new website will be launched very soon.
Online purchases can be made HERE, and yarn, accessories and more can be purchased HERE.
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