A far cry from its humble beginnings in a disused toilet block in the local park, one woman’s bookstore dream-come-true has made a big impact on a small community.
Single-mother Ruth Galloway, who describes herself as “the crazy person who opened a community bookshop during a pandemic”, founded Guid Reads in August last year, in a bid to bring books and “a little bit of sunshine” to the tiny village of Alva, Clackmannanshire.
The coronavirus pandemic has hit most independents hard, but the start-up cost of Guid Reads was crowdfunded by the community in a single day, and books are sold on a “pay what you can afford” basis - with donations going towards keeping the lights on and the doors open.
Anything over that, and it goes to a different charity every quarter.
Ms Galloway, 40, relied on books to give her comfort for the best part of 20 years when she was plagued by ill-health, said books had seen her through her hardest days - but were now giving her her best.
“Getting us here as was a long journey” Ms Galloway explained. “It was two and a half decades of more hospital days than holidays, and it was books that got me through that.
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Knowing as well as anyone the precious escapism books can offer in times of crisis, Ms Galloway's new chapter saw her spearheading efforts that would allow Alva's community bookshop 'Guid Reads' to take shape.
“I loaded two little folding bookcases and emptied my bookcases of books I thought other people might like”, Ms Galloway said, “and we toddled off down to the local park.”
Sitting at the door of a disused toilet block in the park, it was hard to imagine where such a glamorous start might take them.
“The response was absolutely incredible”, Ms Galloway said. “People bringing books down, people coming down for books, people coming down just to connect with other people...
“It doesn't matter if you've got two pounds or 20 pounds in your purse, it's all just a donation into the pot."
The little team of book merchants was getting busier and busier week after week, to the point where Ms Galloway couldn't fit all of the books that were being donated into her car.
By the start of September, the community was hooked and the hub so well established that when a local community cafe became available to let, the community jumped at the chance to make Guid Reads a permanent fixture of the village.
“When I was a child it was called the Alva crafts”, Ms Galloway remembered. “It was a special place then and it just had a place in my heart already.”
But with a sum of £1000 needed to kickstart the project, it seemed unlikely Ms Galloway and her daughter would be able to drum up the necessary funds.
“£1000 pounds was a mammoth task for me” Ms Galloway explained. “But we set up a GoFundMe in the morning thinking, maybe in a few months, we would have enough money to get going.”
By the end of that day, on September 11, they had raised more than £900 to cover the shop’s deposit and first month's rent.
“I never in my wildest dreams thought that the community would connect financially in the way that we did", Ms Galloway added. “The whole experience has just been so humbling.”
After weeks of overseeing book exchanges in the concrete entrance of a drizzly toilet block, the shop finally opened its doors at the end of September last year.
Ms Galloway added: “I’ve always said that this project is about community, and it's about bringing some sunshine into people's lives.”
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It’s not a coffee shop, but they’ll make you a coffee. It’s not an internet cafe, but they’ve helped older patrons navigate online shopping, so they can order presents for their grandkids. When members of the community lost their keys and got locked outside their homes, they had a place to shelter.
The pandemic, Ms Galloway admitted, has had its challenges, but is firm in her belief that the shop has been just what the community needed.
It's brought the people of Alva together, and given the Alva residents something positive to focus on.
“This is about the community coming together and doing something for itself", she explained, "and I'm just incredibly humbled that people have trusted me with this job.”
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