Back in 2017, the Friends of the Library of Hawaii (FLH) started a mini-bookstore within an art gallery in Mark's Garage, a building on the border between Honolulu's downtown and Chinatown.
The art gallery is named The Arts at Mark's Garage.
And the mini-bookstore inside was named Books@Marks.
Pablo Wegesend's photo
Books@Mark's
This was part of FLH's strategy to sell donated used books (and comics, vinyl records, CD's, DVD's, postcards & more) beyond their major annual booksales, as well as promote their brand beyond the usual booksale customers & library patrons.
The Arts at Mark's Garage usually has a theme every month or so in which displays a certain type of artwork. One month it could watercolors. Another month would focus on photography. Other themes include arts by certain cultural groups (ie, Native Hawaiian, African diaspora, Filipinos) or by the LGBT community.
And sometimes, The Arts at Mark's Garage would hold events like film screenings, spoken poetry, live theater, live music, and dances.
The fun especially happens on First Fridays, when nightlife lovers can explore the art galleries, bars, restaurants & more every First Friday of the month.
And that's when I was at the Books@Mark's. Every First Friday from May 2017 to March 2020, I was at Books@Mark's as a cashier. From 5pm to 10pm!
The first hour was usually slow, but the fun usually starts at 6 or 7pm. That's when they have the opening event for the latest art display. There are speeches, and sometimes music. People would come in to mingle and enjoy the festivities. Then they start to notice bookshelves. And the records and the CDs and the DVDs and more cool stuff. And that's when I introduce them to the Friends of the Library of Hawaii and notify them of the upcoming book sales, either at McKinley High School (should be renamed Honolulu High School) or Washington Middle School.
People are usually amazed at what we got! Classics they have long forgotten about. Books with eye-catching titles. Stuff for people from every walk of life, from the keiki to the kupuna and everyone in between.
A lot of the customers who came were those in their early 20s who intend to go club-hopping. They come for the festivities and indulge in their intellectual side for a few minutes (and sometimes even buy some books) before they go back out for some club-hopping.
Sometimes, I would even see old friends from college or work come in. And I also made new friends too. We had our regulars who come in every First Friday.
Being a cashier at Books@Mark's was much easier than at most mainstream retail chains (I've worked at Macy's and Nordstrom Rack) because I don't have to pressure people to enroll in the company's rewards plan nor do I have to deal with other complex transactions. I just add the prices, add tax, accept payment and give the customer an FLH bookmark listing the upcoming booksales.
I could've done all this forever.
However, the coronavirus crisis happened.
I remember on the First Friday of March 2020, there was already talk of events being canceled (like the South by Southwest festivities in Austin). I was telling one of the art gallery volunteers that I thought the reactions were out of proportion and I said "remember when FDR said we have nothing to fear but fear itself? Now it's time to fear the fear."
Later that month, everything was shut down. Everything was closed except for essentials.
Time to take the coronavirus crisis seriously!
No more First Fridays.
FLH also canceled their major booksales, including their big summer booksale at McKinley High School (should be renamed Honolulu High School).
FLH pivoted to focusing on online booksales.
FLH did reopen Books@Mark's later in 2020, but only in the daytime. No more First Friday festivities.
Plus, First Fridays at Books@Mark's meant not much space for social distancing.
Then earlier this year, FLH did open another used bookstore (Village Books & Music), this time at Ward Villages, at the former site for Pier 1 Imports. There is much more space for social distancing there. As well as much more space for more books and other formats.
I visited Village Books & Music one time, but haven't had time to do volunteering for FLH due to my work schedule
(I currently work for a fashion retail store whose work schedule changes every week. At least I'm not cashiering there, otherwise, I have to do complex transactions with impatient customers).
But I get an email from FLH earlier this week noting that Books@Mark's is being shut down and that they want volunteers to come in to pack up all the inventory. The scheduled date (today) happened to be my day off. So I was able to come in, help them pack, and express my gratitude for the great times I had at Books@Mark's.
The shelves are about to be cleared (07/22/2021 circa 9:15 am)
Books@Mark's is now a thing of the past. It is a part of my past that I will always treasure :)
