Open Books Breaks Ground in Chicago

Chicago’s newest bookstore, Open Books, opened this month with a treasure trove of more than 50,000 usable books for sell, as well as an assortment of literacy programs for adults and children. Most books sold at Open Books are half off, and some are even cheaper, costing only a dollar. Open Books is open Monday – Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The new 15,OOO-square-foot, three-story literacy center (5,000 square feet is dedicated to the bookstore) is located in Chicago’s River North area at 213 West Institute Place (map it). Along with its massive assortment of books, the state-of-the-art facility has an army of more than 2,000 volunteers that administer on-site adult, family, and computer literacy programs, including:

- Books Buddies where volunteers read one-on-one with students.

- We Write workshops for ESL adults.

- VWrite where volunteers coach high school juniors on college- and career-related writing skills via weekly e-mail, instant message and/or phone conferences.

Open Books also hosts open mic nights, creative writing classes, author readings, and film screenings.

Open Books looks and operates like a normal bookstore. The only difference is that proceeds from books sales help fund literacy programs for adults and children. Each month, Open Books collects over 11,000 used books from donors and corporations across Chicago.

For more information on donating books or volunteering, call 312-475-1355.

Photo credit: SXC