A POPULAR second-hand bookshop in Reading town centre hopes to open a new chapter.
The Oxfam store in the High Street closed last year for renovations but has not reopened.
It had originally intended to reopen in the spring, but the doors have stayed shut.
Now, the charity says it is searching for a fresh location for its stock which includes second-hand bargains, rare books, and magazines, as well as children’s books, fairtrade goods and Oxfam merchandise.
Its sister store, in Duke Street, sells records, tapes and videos. It posted on social media last week to share the news of its search and made it clear that it wasn’t a lack of interest that saw the venue mothballed.
“It is now clear that it will permanently close. The bookshop was very successful so this was not a consequence of poor sales,” the note read.
“A huge thank you to all customers, donors, volunteers and other supporters of the shop over the years.”
It pointed people to the alternative locations for books, which include a bookshop in the Crockhamwell Road shopping precinct in Woodley, another in Henley, while the Prospect Street store in Caversham and Wokingham’s Peach Street both have book sections.
The record shop stocks comics, graphic novels, some genre fiction, and books and magazines about music, film and arts.
The national charity has confirmed the post, and made it clear they wish to find a new location in Reading town centre to sell books from.
Oxfam Retails ops manager Claire Samuel said: “The decision has been made not to re-open the Reading shop due to rising repair and restoration costs.
“We have decided instead to relocate to a bigger and better store.
“We are currently looking for new premises in Reading and hope to be trading again as soon as possible.
“In the meantime, donors can drop off their pre-loved items at our two other Reading stores and we are still operating online until a new location is found.”
The Oxfam bookstore is the last dedicated second-hand bookstore in the town centre. There used to be a number including a British Heart Foundation store in West Street, and Keegans Bookshop in Merchants Place, as well as The Stables antique centre in the same location. And there was a second-hand store in the building now used by O’Neill’s, as well as numerous charity and house clearance stores on the Oxford Road. Amnesty International ran a second-hand store on Wokingham Road.
