Loveland’s Anthology Books makes changes

Anthology Book  Company in downtown Loveland is in the process of making many changes.  Below is a long note I received from the owners.  I have taken the liberty of bolding some of the text.   (I noted in an earlier post that Coffee Tree that was in Anthology has moved west to where Mandolin Cafe was.) 

Anthology Book Company is located at 422 East Fourth Street in Loveland, Colorado.

What are we up to?
Since 1999, Anthology Book Company has anchored the east end of 4th St in downtown Loveland. Established in 1987 in the Palmer Gardens shopping center as a used paperback bookshop known as The Book Rack, Anthology is Loveland’s oldest and most beloved bookstore. Mark and I acquired the business 10 years ago. We knew this could be the sort of business to raise our kids in, to support our family, and to plant ourselves deeply in the root of our community. Our vision for a vibrant, meaningful, sustainable, and genuine “third place” continues to be our inspiration and motivation.

For the past 25 years, our independent bookstore has evolved through changes in ownership, uncertain economic times, the particular challenges of a downtown location, and the indomitable effects of technology. Now we, and booksellers everywhere, find ourselves at a tipping point. The time has come to revision our role in the dissemination of books and ideas, further strengthen our place in our community, and position ourselves for the rebirth of the local, neighborhood bookstore. Our industry has come full circle and as the behemoths continue to fall, we now have an opportunity to ensure the vitality and relevance of our independent bookstores.

To this end we are undertaking a major transformation of the bookstore. If you have been in in the last few weeks you will have noticed the construction crews (ahem, my family members) hard at work on all aspects of our space: from ceiling to floor. We are getting ready to install our own in-house coffee shop/cafe: The Espresso Bar at Anthology, serving locally-roasted Coda Coffee, light meals and small plates. We also think wine and beer will make a nice addition to our offerings, especially at our evening events, and so we have applied for our liquor license. When The Espresso Bar opens its doors in early August, we will have longer hours to accommodate you — opening a couple of hours earlier in the mornings, and staying open a couple of hours later in the evenings.

I, and everyone on staff here at Anthology, take our roles as independent booksellers very seriously. We realize that one of the more significant offerings we have for our community is in supporting and promoting children’s literacy. As a new mom myself, one of my greatest endeavors is to make reading fun and exciting, and to do all I can to ensure we are all raising life-long readers. At Anthology we are looking forward to enhancing our children’s department and adding children’s programming onto our event schedule.

Speaking of events, we are excited to beef up our events schedule with everything from author appearances & book signings, to live music and poetry readings. We will have the space for small groups to meet in our cafe and will continue to host a monthly book group.

Lots of things are staying the same, too! We will continue to offer both new and used books, as well as interesting gifts and reading supplies. Our book trade program is more important than ever (keep bringing us your books!) And our staff is still the friendliest most helpful bunch around.

These are just a few of the things we have in store for you. What do you think? Drop me a line or stop by the bookstore and take a look at our plans. We are excited about the next 25 years of bookselling in Loveland, CO. We hope you are, too!