Our Story

 Get To Know Us:

BEGINNINGS

In the fall of 2020 a group of individuals from various walks of life came together to discuss a singular shared hope--the possibility of opening a bookstore! We recognized the need for an independent bookstore not just because Central Wisconsin did not have one, but also because we wanted the bookstore to bring people into contact with new ideas, different voices, and join us in building a better understanding of community and social literacy. From that conversation there emerged an idea for a cooperative, radically-oriented, service motivated bookstore.

From that group of people nine individuals enjoined the Central Wisconsin Bookstore Cooperative as the base from which the necessary entities for achieving our mission could emerge--pop-up shops, a mobile bookstore, and eventually, a storefront.  We met in backyards and virtually (Gah! COVID!), working to hone our idea into something achievable. Our goal was simple: bring necessary and relevant radical literature to Central Wisconsin, host community events and functions aimed at developing a critical consciousness regarding social issues and injustices facing our communities, and become a hub of social activity and inquiry to strengthen our understanding of, and commitment to, a better community for all--while having fun.

Putting our collective heads together we began to construct the framework for a democratically controlled, member-owned bookstore that would serve as the root for numerous conversations around equality and social justice. That bookstore was christened The Bookshop Co-op and at its center were the goals of encouraging radical kindness and critical understanding as well as creating a worker cooperative that valued the needs of its members. From there we began the process of building a business that would accommodate these aspirations: to host those conversations about social issues using multiple worldviews and voices through literature to both inform and guide our efforts at connecting people and cultivating a deeper and richer understanding of those issues.

TRANSFORMATIONS

Becoming a member-owned cooperative requires a necessarily democratic process and no member’s vote or opinion should count for more than any other member’s.This, we learned, can be easier said than done. Working in a large group of people with diverse opinions, views, and ideas about what we were trying to build provided us with plenty of opportunities to learn how to do this–even if we did not always do this successfully. We persevered, developing and deepening our commitment to the democratic process and each other ultimately forging a co-op that was capable of being mutually supportive and ensuring that all members are heard, their concerns straightforwardly addressed, with decisions made collectively by the group.

The process of building our co-op caused our membership to shrink over time for a number of reasons, but we joined Create Portage County’s small business incubator program, Surge, and–not entirely unbelievably–WE WON! While we were hosting pop-ups and doing community programming throughout our first summer of business we were focused on Surge as our first big opportunity to secure funding to bring our big dreams for Bookshop to fruition. So, while our co-op has shrunk since we were founded, our business in selling books continues to grow, and we are seeking new members to pace our growth and continue to grow the opportunities that Bookshop represents.

THE FUTURE

With three seasons of operations under our belt, positions open for new members, and money set aside to purchase our bookmobile, The Bookshop Co-op is looking toward the horizon. We are in the process of developing further merch, and working to expand our community engagement in new, fun, and radical ways.  While we are still not taking regular paychecks as members quite yet, we are having a good time doing important work, and exploring all of the possibilities for bringing much-needed conversations to the Central Wisconsin area.