The Book Rescuers opened in its new home, a 14,400 square-foot warehouse at 8325 Ulmerton Rd. in Largo, on Black Friday 2024. Dozens of volunteers stayed to stock shelves until midnight on Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe power of books, man,\u201d George Brooks observes<\/p>\n
They plan for this location to be the store\u2019s permanent home. The decor includes a book tree built of 1,000 books that towers over a lounge area in the front of the store. In the stacks, there\u2019s a square opening for a book nook at the same point along each aisle of bookshelves. The openings form a row running across the aisles to create a view that\u2019s like a framed tunnel running through the center of the shelving.<\/p>\n
Except for the bookshelves that Brooks built, everything in the store is donated. That includes the furniture and the 100-year-old piano in the lounge area near the front of the store. The piano\u2019s been put to use in some impromptu musical performances. When one couple comes in, the husband heads to play the piano while his wife shops, Brooks says.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/bookrescuersgeorge.jpg\")
George Brooks inspects a bookThen, there are the books, records, and other merchandise. They work with junk haulers, movers, estate sale companies, 42 libraries, and dozens of schools to get a steady stream of donations and keep books out of landfills.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe get some really awesome random donations as well,\u201d Brooks says.<\/p>\n
A Panasonic CD\/cassette boombox with a six-disc auto changer and detachable speakers is one recent example. Brooks sold that on the store\u2019s Instagram through a \u201ctreasure drop,\u201d where he puts something unique up for sale and gives prospective buyers 24 hours to make an offer, with the highest offer winning. The boombox sold for $92.<\/p>\n
Community gathering place<\/strong><\/p>\n The Brooks want The Book Rescuers to be more than a really cool used bookstore. They see it as a gathering place for the community that drove the business\u2019s growth and rallied behind its mission to rescue and rehome books.\u00a0<\/p>\n Each month is filled with free events put on in partnership with other businesses and community groups. There are book clubs, the popular Painting with Passion community art event, a sensory play hour, book release events, a game night, and a Reiki and sound bowl healing hour.\u00a0<\/p>\n Teachers always get a 50 percent discount on classroom books can pick up free school supplies stocked at the back of the store. There\u2019s also a section featuring books by local authors, with The Book Rescuers collecting only $2 from each book sale.<\/p>\n What\u2019s next<\/strong><\/p>\n In less than five years, The Book Rescuers has gone from a two-person husband-and-wife business operating in a driveway to a 14,400 square-foot space with 10 employees.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSarah and I have always said it\u2019s the most physical job we\u2019ve ever had, and I used to move furniture, but it\u2019s also hands down the most rewarding thing we\u2019ve ever done,\u201d Brooks says. \u201cIt\u2019s nice to be part of something that has the love of the community. And it\u2019s the community who built this.\u201d<\/p>\n The business continues to grow. They\u2019re getting ready to put in a coffee, tea, beer, and wine bar in partnership with St. Petersburg\u2019s\u00a0 Overflow Brewing. They\u2019re also adding a stage for musical, comedy, spoken word, and open mic performances. It\u2019s all happening because of a community that came together through a mutual love of books.<\/p>\n \u201cBooks are amazing,\u201d Brooks says. \u201cBooks are powerful. Books are epic. But one thing that\u2019s more epic than the books is the readers of those books. It\u2019s hands-down what we\u2019ve realized. When we were starting this, our friends were telling us we were crazy, no one reads. We were crazy for sure, still are, but it just turned out we didn\u2019t have the right friends.\u00a0 A lot of people still read; I\u00a0 don\u2019t care what people say. Our children\u2019s section, you should see the kids run in here. We had a field trip come in yesterday, kind of last-minute. We had kids asking us for foreign books, novels in Russian. The love for books and reading is definitely thriving.\u201d<\/p>\n