Bookstore

Cookbooks, rare books, bestsellers and more in GIBB’s bookstore

Goodwill shoppers have always snapped up books in the area’s stores, but now Tallahassee shoppers have a store devoted to just books, CDs and DVD/VHSs. You’ll find it alongside Goodwill’s donation center at the corner of Thomasville and Betton Roads.

"Since taking this job, the quality being made available is quite apparent to me," Donna Jernigan, Bookstore Manager said. "This is terrific news because our quality books will be made affordable by our low prices."

The 800 sq. ft. store is arranged in sections including a special area for rare and signed books. These books would be quite expensive elsewhere, but are sold at affordable prices at Goodwill’s bookstore. They have also had success selling older books. Customers buy them as decorative pieces. First editions are distinguished with small tags that won’t mar the books.

The larger portion of the store is organized into categories including fiction, biography and business. They have a sizable current events section as well as sections on sports and arts.

The kid’s room is so popular that it has to be restocked everyday. It has a table and chairs where youngsters can sit and read. "I’ve had good feedback from parents on our puzzle/game section with several kinds of educational and interactive materials," Jernigan said.

The best selling books so far have been cookbooks, and not necessarily those of famous chefs. Those with recipes by talented mothers and grandmothers are very popular.

The store also boasts a collection of DVD/VHS that spans many interests. Jernigan finds that the inclusion of DVDs ties in with their books. She uses Harry Potter as an example.

They have received excellent feedback from the college community on their dedicated textbook section and a "required reads" section will be beneficial to the school community.

From 150 – 250 "new" books are put out in the store each day. All of the books have been donated by the public. Sales were especially brisk during Grand Opening Week, July 9 – 14. Being adjacent to Goodwill’s Thomasville Road Attended Donation Center has helped to draw in customers.

Because of an overlap in hours between the donation center and bookstore, they sometimes receive donations after the donation center closes.

The bookstore is not detracting from book sales in the other Goodwill stores, though. Since last September, Jernigan has been upscaling the book sections in each of Goodwill Industries – Big Bend’s stores to ensure uniformity in pricing and quality. As with all Goodwill stores, all proceeds from the bookstore provide job training and wages for people with disabilities and other barriers to employment.

The bookstore is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

All that’s missing is the coffee.