SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Fusenews
  • Reviews
  • Librarian Previews
  • Best Books
    • Top 100
    • Best Books of 2022
    • Best Books of 2021
    • Best Books of 2020
    • Best Books of 2019
    • Best Books of 2018
    • Best Books of 2017
    • Best Books of 2016
    • Best Books of 2015
    • Best Books of 2014
    • Best Books of 2013
  • Fuse 8 n’ Kate
  • Videos
  • Press Release Fun

July 31, 2020 by Betsy Bird

Saying Goodbye to Bank Street Bookstore

July 31, 2020 by Betsy Bird   2 comments

Photo from 2015 of the opening of the Bank Street Bookstore in its new location

This pandemic in which we find ourselves has taken a lot from each of us. It has leveled families, and destroyed whole economies, and shuttered businesses. Here in Evanston, we have two bookstores in particular that I’ve been watching closely and worriedly. Maybe you all have your own bookstores you’re monitoring. Of course, it never occurred to me to worry about the old bookstores I used to visit when I lived in NYC. Maybe that’s why it hit me so hard to hear the Publishers Weekly article Coronavirus Shutters Longtime NYC Children’s Bookstore.

When I first moved to NYC, the Bank Street Bookstore was located next to the Bank Street College of Education. Logical enough. But, this being New York, high rents forced it to move down the road a smidge in 2015. That was early in the same year that I high-tailed it to Evanston, but many of the things I liked about the space survived. I had small children that very much enjoyed the elaborate puppet shows that Andy Laties and his fellow employees would put on, and I think I may have even signed there at its reopening, sandwiched between Rebecca Stead and Deborah Heiligman (which is a good place to be sandwiched, let me tell you).

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

For years I stopped in the store to see the latest books coming out. Even when I was the Youth Materials Specialist of NYPL, I found that a trip to the Bank Street store always yielded something I hadn’t seen, or made it clear that one series or another that I hadn’t paid much attention to before was popular with the kids. I purchased with some of the store’s influence in mind.

Bank Street Bookstore, I am very sorry to see you go. Now it’s gone the same route as other classic shuttered NYC children’s bookstores of the past, most notably Eeyore’s. Here’s hoping more bookstores might be in the city’s future. It’s just awful to see them go.

Filed under: Obits

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
Bank Street Bookstorechildren's bookstores

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

January 2023

In Memoriam: Remembering Those Lost in 2022

by Betsy Bird

January 2022

In Memoriam: Remembering Those Lost in 2021

by Betsy Bird

July 2021

In Memoriam: Floyd Cooper

by Betsy Bird

May 2021

Remembering Eric Carle and Lois Ehlert

by Betsy Bird

January 2021

In Memoriam: Remembering Those Lost in 2020

by Betsy Bird

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

Your 2023 Caldecott Comment Card

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Poems As Picture Books: Zetta Elliott Discusses the Upcoming A Song for Juneteenth

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

2023 ALA Youth Media Awards

by Esther Keller

Heavy Medal

FREEWATER wins the Newbery Medal, live reactions from Heavy Medal bloggers

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

A Conversation with Kendare Blake about BUFFY, THE NEXT GENERATION

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

A Book 25 Years in the Making: Marla Frazee Visits The Yarn

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Best Poetry 2022 | SLJ Best Books

6 Hanukkah Books for Young Readers

Best Young Adult Books 2022 | SLJ Best Books

Happy New Year! 6 Books About Rosh Hashanah for Young Readers

Where Do Babies Come From? | Milestones

About Betsy Bird

Betsy Bird is currently the Collection Development Manager of the Evanston Public Library system and a former Materials Specialist for New York Public Library. She has served on Newbery, written for Horn Book, and has done other lovely little things that she'd love to tell you about but that she's sure you'd find more interesting to hear of in person. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of EPL, SLJ, or any of the other acronyms you might be able to name. Follow her on Twitter: @fuseeight.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jennifer Sniadecki says

    July 31, 2020 at 9:26 am

    I’m so sorry to hear about the closing of BanK Street Bookstore! It certainly was a great place to hang out in NYC.

  2. Rachel says

    August 1, 2020 at 12:57 pm

    I live directly across the street from the store and used to live two blocks from the old location. The staff has seen my girls grow up, from me bringing them in strollers, to them walking in with me, to them going there to shop on their own. This is a tragedy for children’s books and for my neighborhood.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

  • External Links

    • A Fuse #8 Production Reviews
  • Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Age Level
    • Ideas
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Neverending Search
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Classroom Bookshelf
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • 2022 Youth Media Awards
    • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
    • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
    • Summer Reading 2021
    • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
    • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
    • Summer Programming Survey
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2023


    COPYRIGHT © 2023