When thinking of a typical bookseller, the person that comes to mind is usually a cardigan-wearing academic with glasses, seated behind a desk and surrounded by towering shelves filled with books. However, for Nathaniel Sandler, founding director of the mobile, nonprofit library Bookleggers, his passion for books has put a more adventurous spin on this image.
“We were at the mouth of Anhinga Trail in the Everglades, we were on a pirate ship going out of Bayside, we gave away books in Marlins’ Park during a baseball game,” Sandler said.
In 2012, Sandler started Bookleggers as a nomadic, pop-up style store that he and his team would take around to different events, giving away free books to anyone that wanted one. Now, 12 years later, the business has expanded to a full-size store in Wynwood, Fla. with more than 10 smaller libraries all around Miami.
Just because Sandler and his team have settled down in a new shop does not mean that they have given up on their mobile ways.
“We have the main location in Wynwood, but we also have a trailer,” Sandler said. “It’s like a bookstore on wheels.”
According to Sandler, the trailer is 16 feet wide and seven feet tall, opening up into a full bookstore. From Nov. 22-24, Bookleggers will be bringing this trailer to Miami’s annual book fair and is constantly bringing it around to all different events around the city.
“We’ve had a shop downtown, we’ve had a shop in South Beach, we just follow where the right projects go, where free books are called, if that makes sense,” Sandler said.
Since its launch in 2012, the main goal of Bookleggers has been building community through books.
“We wanted to fill a gap in that existence, where people could come together and have fun but also be able to get something for free,” Sandler said.
These efforts to make reading accessible have not gone unnoticed in the community. Reading, while fun, can be a very expensive hobby, and readers around Miami notice Bookleggers’ work and appreciate their efforts in lowering book costs.
“It just encourages everyone to read and not be worried about how they’re going to afford to buy a new book,” long-time frequent customer Britnee Murphy said. “My purchases [quickly] grew from 20 to 30 to 40 books.”
Bookleggers is not only different from regular bookstores because of its unique deals and events, but they also have a unique environment as a store, clearly carrying their goal of making reading inviting and accessible in everything that they do.
“It’s a different take from a typical, traditional library, those [can be] so large and overwhelming,” Murphy said. “I think that it’s just a more laid back place where you can [really] have a relationship with reading and shopping for books.”
For Bookleggers, relationships go beyond even that. Many of their customers, like Murphy, return time and again for more than just books.
“They’re always working and planning events and whatnot,” Murphy said. “What they do for the community is amazing.”
