University Libraries leverage local bookstore expertise to build community-centered collections
After a visit to the Boulder Bookstore, Librarian Amanda Rybin Koob returned to campus with an armful of books. Those books are now part of the University Libraries collection, thanks to a growing partnership with three local, independent bookstores in an effort to build more inclusive and community-centered collection strategies.
“I quickly realized how many books I can carry on the bus back with me to the library,” laughed Rybin Koob, who is the Literature and Humanities librarian. “The Boulder Bookstore has excellent expertise for curating books for the Boulder community. Every time I visit, I see things that I think we should have in the library collection.”
The Libraries began partnering with local bookstores in 2021 with the Tattered Cover, purchasing titles that highlighted authors, experiences, and stories from Black, Indigenous and People of Color for the Hue-Man Experience collection.
The Libraries are now partnered to purchase books from the Boulder Bookstore and two Denver bookstores, Petals and Pages, a queer woman-owned literary bookstore, and The Shop at MATTER, a Black- and woman-owned design consultancy, letterpress workshop and bookstore.
CU Boulder librarians outside the Boulder Bookstore after shopping in-store for books for the Libraries.
“One of the University Libraries strategic directions is to connect people with the highest quality information and expertise,” explained Head of Collection Development and Assessment Section Arthur Aguilera. “We are excited to partner with these local independent bookstores because they are aware of the broader literacy needs and trends of our local communities, and they bring diverse perspectives and awareness around emerging and underrepresented authors and stories.”
These partnerships were spearheaded by Rybin Koob, Aguilera, Interim Head of Acquisition & Accounting Services Section Rebecca Stone and Director of Collection Sustainability Team Juleah Swanson. They recently presented at the 2025 Core Forum in Denver with hopes to inspire other libraries to take up similar partnerships with their local bookstores.
“We started this program to diversify our vendor base for print materials, support the local economy, enhance our collection areas through bookstore genre specialities and acquire speciality formats such as small press, rarer books and comics and graphic novels,” explained Swanson.
Local expertise fills collection gaps
Bookstores often specialize in certain subject areas and curate their book selections based on the interests of their local community, making them ideal partners for discovering books that may not be easily found through more traditional acquisition methods.
When browsing in-person at the Boulder Bookstore, Rybin Koob said she focuses on staff recommendations, new fiction and poetry and graphic novels.
Since Petals and Pages and The Shop at MATTER are located in Denver—a longer trek from the CU Boulder campus—booksellers will send a curated list of titles they think the Libraries will be interested in purchasing.
“Petals and Pages focuses on LGBTQ+ literature, poetry and fiction. And The Shop at MATTER has expertise around artist books, chapbooks, small press and independent publishers focused on art and design,” said Rybin Koob.
These bookstores often surface titles unavailable through standard library vendors such as local publications or speciality formats.
“It has been very rewarding to work with these bookstores to craft purchasing plans and see the materials they recommend to us,” said Aguilera. “Some of these books are items that we would have missed through our main academic book vendors.”
Libraries typically purchase the bulk of their new books through online vendor platforms like GOBI, but that system can create collection gaps and recent market shifts in print distribution—Clarivate phasing out print book purchases and the closure of Baker & Taylor—have created a growing interest in utilizing local bookstores as a source for print books.
Since the new partnerships began, the Libraries have purchased 81 titles with nearly half of purchases featuring women's voices or characters and a quarter centered on non-white identities.
“The titles we purchased from these bookstores have illustrated gaps we have in our current purchase practices, and I am very excited to see how our collections will be shaped as these partnerships evolve,” said Aguilera.
A valuable in-person browsing experience
“There's so much to the experience of walking into a bookstore and being able to hold the book in your hands and flip through it, read the synopsis and learn more about the author. It's an experience that you can’t replicate online,” said Rybin Koob.
During her recent visit to the Boulder Bookstore, Rybin Koob left with 7 large books including Material wealth: mining the personal archive of Allen Ginsberg. “I didn’t know this book existed and discovered it while browsing. I think it will be really interesting for folks, especially in this community because of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics that Ginsberg co-founded.”
As these partnerships continue to grow, they offer a model for how libraries can thoughtfully adapt their collection strategies by centering bookstore expertise, supporting local businesses and building collections that are more inclusive and relevant to the communities they serve.