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How Pilsen's New Bookstore is Helping Neighborhood Kids Learn to Read

By Stephanie Lulay | February 17, 2016 6:39am
 Mary Gibbons (pictured) and business partner Aaron Lippelt have opened Pilsen Community Books, a new bookstore, at 1102 W. 18th St. in Pilsen.
Mary Gibbons (pictured) and business partner Aaron Lippelt have opened Pilsen Community Books, a new bookstore, at 1102 W. 18th St. in Pilsen.
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dnainfo/Stephanie Lulay

PILSEN — After operating out of a warehouse loft and storage units, a new Pilsen bookstore finally has a home with floor-to-ceiling shelves to call its own. 

Business partners Mary Gibbons and Aaron Lippelt, both alums of literacy non-profit Open Books Pilsen, have opened Pilsen Community Books at 1102 W. 18th St. in Pilsen.

The move to open their own book shop has been two years in the making, said Gibbons, a Pilsen resident. Before securing the perfect space on 18th Street, Pilsen Community Books was operating out of a warehouse space in the Fountain Head Lofts on Halsted, where the pair would invite the public in once a month to browse their vast collection during Pilsen's 2nd Fridays art walk. 

The pop-up shops were a hit, Lippelt said in the shop Tuesday.

"We had such a great response from the community, we thought it would be great if we could have a real storefront," he said. 

Pilsen Community Books features new and used books at 1102 W. 18th St. in Pilsen. [dnainfo/Stephanie Lulay]

While the shop aims to be a destination for book lovers, the for-profit Pilsen Community Books has also launched Pilsen Reads, a social initiative that aims to promote literacy through access to books. To date, Pilsen Reads has donated 1,045 books to seven schools, including Perez Elementary, Cooper Elementary and Saucedo Scholastic Academy in Pilsen and Little Village. 

The Pilsen Reads program lets teachers submit a wish list for their classroom and the bookstore, using profits from the shop, will pay for brand new books for students. 

"We both like the book business, but we feel like there is no reason businesses shouldn't be actively engaged in the community," said Lippelt, whose wife teaches at Cooper Elementary. "It seemed like common sense to us." 

Pilsen Community Books boasts 15,000 new and used books and owners have another 30,000 books in storage. A sizeable collection of rare books, including a first edition, first printing of Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s 1973 novel "Breakfast of Champions" ($150) are for sale online now, and owners have plans to feature the shop's entire inventory for sale online soon. 

The bookstore is open daily 11 a.m.-7 p.m. 

The children's section at Pilsen Community Books features classics and new reads for kids. [dnainfo/Stephanie Lulay]

Pilsen Community Books features new and used books at 1102 W. 18th St. in Pilsen. [dnainfo/Stephanie Lulay]

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