The history of our store goes back to 2017, when Midsouth Youth Theatre & Arts volunteers collected books to sell online to help fund tuition-free productions and arts education opportunities for students in the Spring Hill community and surrounding areas.
With the onset of the public health crisis in March 2020, opportunities for live performance and classes has been temporarily halted. In an effort to stay afloat and utilize empty rehearsal & classroom space, as well as serve our local community, the Board and leadership opted to bring all our books out of storage to host a Book Sale in November of 2020. With the event a few weeks ahead, we began to receive messages from an overwhelming number of residents donating bot just books, but shelves, tables, displays and even a monetary contribution to purchase additional bookish merch. It was obvious the bookselling operation should expand to establish a used bookstore to serve the communty of Spring Hill! The store opened on November 21, 2020.
Still managed by volunteers, with profits being reinvested into community programming centered around arts access and education, our store moved to the main building on the property in September 2022. With over 4000 square feet, each room serves a different group or genre, including a Teen Room with board games, puzzles and art supplies to encourage conversation & creativity; a secondary classroom that can be utilized by the community for classes, parties, private events, rehearsals or studio space; a courtyard for gatherings or small performances; parking pad in the front to host food trucks or pop-up shops, space for multiple vendors and plenty of comfy spaces for reading or gathering.
We look forward to continuing to support the families of our community, which includes the needs of homeschool families, support for local educators, advocacy for arts & culture access, as well as reach more members of the local community by providing at-home entertainment in the form of books, other media & gifts!