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| Taylor Thomas | |
Taylor Thomas is in the process of converting a vintage 1968 Globestar trailer into Archivist Books, a mobile bookstore for new and used books that will serve the Rochester, N.Y., area. Thomas has launched a $10,000 GoFundMe campaign to support the initiative and hopes for a January 2024 launch, the Democrat & Chronicle reported.
While growing up in Baltimore, Thomas was an avid reader, but rarely did they find books with characters that looked like them or reflected their sexuality: "I was a huge fantasy nerd and so often, that meant just consuming literature that was very white, cis, straight centric, which, while fine, got to be incredibly boring."
In 2020, Thomas began selling used books from their own collection, which led to launching an Instagram account called the Secondhand Librarian, offering used books about queer people or people of color, the Democrat & Chronicle noted, adding that the enthusiastic response took Thomas by surprise.
"I was unprepared," they said. "I really didn’t expect it to become a full-time job.” Eventually, balancing their office manager job and the side business became too much. In mid-2022, they closed up shop to learn and strategize how to run a business.
Now Thomas is back with a new plan and vision. Under the name the Secondhand Librarian, they stock used books at Bookeater, the new bookstore and café in the South Wedge. The next step is to get the Archivist Books mobile bookstore on the road. Work is underway on transforming the trailer into a bookshop for new and used books. In addition to the crowdfunding campaign, Thomas is funding construction costs through sales at Bookeater and at pop-up events.
"A lot of people can't get to bookstores," Thomas said. "I want to take books to people.... Representation is so incredibly important because I believe that when marginalized people are behind the book buying process, it helps to diversify the books going out into the world."