Congratulations to Philly AIDS Thrift, owner since 2014 of Giovanni's Room--now known as Philly AIDS Thrift@Giovanni's Room--which has received a $10,000 business award from the Independence Business Alliance: Greater Philadelphia's LGBT Chamber of Commerce, according to Philly Voice.
Philly AIDS Thrift board president Michael Byrne said that the money will be put toward the store's website, QueerBooks.com. "We see that has a lot of potential to really expand and grow and increase revenue for the store. So, what we're going to do is redesign the site and do some work on it, and make it fresh and modern and user-friendly. And we'll look into search engine optimization research, so that when people search we show up."
Roy DeLaMar, a Philly AIDS Thrift board member, added: "I feel there are still a lot of people who still don't have access to a gay bookstore--the few that are left--or a lot of people aren't comfortable walking into Barnes & Noble, walking into this big gay and lesbian section. We've gotten orders from all over the world--an order from every continent. There are a lot of people from beyond our borders who need this service and, for whatever reason, feel more comfortable doing it online or don't have an option but to support online."
Founded in 1973, Giovanni's Room is one of the oldest LGBT bookstores in the country and was long owned by Ed Hermance.