Congratulations to the Narrow Gauge Book Cooperative in Alamosa, Colo., which is celebrating its fifth anniversary this month.
Per the Alamosa News, the new and used bookstore emerged out of a community-wide effort to make sure the town did not lose its only bookstore. In February 2018, the Narrow Gauge Newsstand announced it would close after 40 years in business. The same month, Alamosa residents held a community meeting to discuss ways to reopen the bookstore. A woman named Julie Mordecai suggested a cooperative model, "and the Narrow Gauge Book Cooperative was born."
After months of open houses, a Call-A-Thon, an Indiegogo campaign, and other fundraising activities, the bookstore reopened as the Narrow Gauge Book Cooperative in August 2018. All told, the town was without a bookstore for only about five months.
The bookstore will host a variety of anniversary activities next week.