The Galaxy Bookshop

 

7 Mill Street ^. Hardwick, Vermont

802-472-5533

 

Open Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Saturday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

 

Thank You, to All Our Customers!

In this season of gratitude for harvest, home, and loved ones, we are grateful for all of you who consider The Galaxy Bookshop your bookstore. Our nation's economic woes seem to have served as a reminder--or a confirmation--of the importance of supporting locally owned businesses. We cannot rely on corporations or the government for economic stability, but we can rely on our community members to support one another, through good times and bad.

With the news and op-ed pieces that show up almost daily predicting the end of bookstores, and even the end of reading, the outlook can seem bleak at times. You give us reasons for optimism in the face of these disheartening reports. Last month, we held our second Read-a-Thon to benefit Hardwick Head Start and Early Head Start. Other local businesses (Hall's Market, Grand Union, Connie's Kitchen, and Patchwork Farm & Bakery) pitched in with donations of food to fuel our participants through 24 hours of reading. For 24 hours, we were surrounded by kids who were excited about books, and these kids raised $1,514 from a community eager to help young children take their critical first steps into the world of reading. We are thrilled to be able to give back to our town, through the Read-a-Thon and through other donations we make to various organizations throughout the year. Something to keep in mind when you shop locally is that you're not only supporting a business, you're also supporting the schools, food shelves, sports teams, shelters, and other groups that receive donations of one kind or another as well as tax dollars from that business.

We know that you have choices when you decide to purchase a book. You could go online. You could go to a department store or discount warehouse. You could choose to spend $8.99 on a new hardcover instead of the cover price of $25 (or more.) We understand that it can be hard to pass up a deal like that. We can tell you this, though: When you make the choice to buy books from The Galaxy Bookshop, you are investing your hard earned money in our town, where it will continue to circulate and sustain the greater Hardwick area. You're telling us that you appreciate our service, knowledge, and unique selection of books.

Each season, we are presented with another round of new books to choose from. Each season, we pore over catalogs, talk with sales reps, read advance galleys, and sift through book reviews from our peers in the independent bookselling world and beyond. Armed with this information and what we know of our customers' interests, we carefully select what we feel are the best books for our shelves. We take pride in this, and we take pride in offering the best customer service we can provide. If we don't have what you're looking for, we'll order it; if you're not sure what it is you're looking for, we'll help you find it.

Bookselling is being challenged on many fronts, but we can be thankful when people come through the door and say things like "Thank you for having this bookstore," as one young customer recently told us. To that, we reply, "Thank you for making this bookstore part of your life."
We look forward to seeing you in the coming weeks as we celebrate the holidays and (thanks to you) our 21st year in business.