I've posted some photos from the move and of the new space to the gallery.  Follow the links below to see all the hard work of the volunteers and the wonderful finished product.

Photos from the move.

Photos of the new store.

 Boxcar Books is Moving to 408 East 6th Street, next to The Runcible Spoon, in the former Cereal Barn space.  Grand Re-opening scheduled for Friday, August 22nd at 7pm.  Tunes by The Fatted Calf String Band, Drinks, catered by The Runcible Spoon!  We're still open in our current space but will be closed from Saturday, July 26th---Re-Open on 6th Street on Monday August 4th!  See you there!

WE NEED YOUR HELP---COME HELP DURING VOLUNTEER WORK DAYS! Absolutely everyone's invited! Please check out the days and times and places below. 
If you have questions, please call 812-339-8710 or email steven@boxcarbooks.org
WORK DAYS! AKA  we need lots of help, please donate your time!

fun- friday night parties! (invite friends! drinks, food, bring it!)
july 25th and august 1st  9pm—2am
wednesday, july 23rd 4-9pm
painting at e 6th st
thursday, july 24th 4-9pm
painting at e 6th st
----------we need extra help this weekend!
friday, july 25th  11am-9pm
packing at s washington
painting at e 6th st
friday night work party!  9pm--2am
saturday, july 26th 10am-9pm
painting at e 6th st
packing at S washington
sunday, july 27th 11am-6pm
painting at e 6th st
packing at S washington
monday, july 28th 11am-9pm
the actual move!--show up at either location!
tuesday, july 29th 11am-9pm
landscape work/ painting at e 6th st
wednesday, july 30th 11am-9pm
unpacking/organizing at e 6th st
thursday, july 31st 11am-9pm
shelving at e 6th st
-----------we need extra help this weekend!
friday, august 1st 11am-9pm
shelving at e 6th st
friday night work party!  9pm--2am
saturday, august 2nd 10am--9pm
shelving at e 6th st
sunday, august 3rd 11am-9pm
final work day!
OPENING DAY!~--monday, august 4th 2008 at 11am!

First, the volunteers at Boxcar Books and the Midwest Pages to Prisoners Project want to thank you for all the support that you have given us for the last six and a half years.  We could not do the work that we do if it were not for the patronage, donations, and funding that we have received from conscious citizens like you. You have not let us down and we hope that we have not let you down by striving to maintain our position as not only a great bookstore where you can get information that you may not find anywhere else, but a community center where people are free to express themselves and organize with the intention of making the Bloomington community a more progressive and forward thinking place to live.  We are pleased to announce that after six and a half years at our current location, Boxcar Books and the Midwest Pages to Prisoners Project will be moving within the next month!We will be leaving our home at 3rd & Washington and moving to 408 E. 6th St, the former location of the Cereal Barn (next to the Runcible Spoon!). 

This move was not a choice, as the building we are located in was sold recently.  However, we did select our new location very carefully and we hope that being closer to campus and in the heart of downtown Bloomington, our visibility and business will continue to grow.If you are familiar with 408 E. 6th St, you know that the layout is that of a former house.  Although the small rooms will break up our subject matter nicely, the current layout is going to require us to do quite a bit of construction before we can move in.  In addition to removing walls, the barnyard scenes that are currently covering most walls will need to be painted over, new lighting needs installed, new bookshelves built, new signage made, and countless other improvements need to happen prior to actually moving our 14,000 books into the new location.   To do all of this, we need support from our community.We hope that you will be able to support your community bookstore as we undertake this monumental step. 

There are several ways you can help

1.  Monetary donations!  Any contributions of $10.00 or more will automatically earn you a Friends of the Boxcar membership, giving you a discount of 10% off anything in the store for life! 

2.  Stuff!  We are seeking the following quality items for our new space- Flat screen computer monitor, stereo receiver, stereo speakers, a quality vacuum, comfy reading chairs, reams of 8 ½ x 11 copy paper (any colors), a laminating machine, lamps, and a bike rack.  Please contact abbey@boxcarbooks.org if you can fulfill any of these requests.

3.  Skilled labor!  We are in search of people with the following skills who are willing to donate their time- Electrical work, carpentry, painting, general maintenance, and a heating and cooling specialist.  Please contact abbey@boxcarbooks.org if you have skills you can share.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at the phone number or email address below.  Donations can be made by stopping by the store or sending donations in the mail.  Credit card donations can also be made over the phone. 

Thank you again for your support!

-The Volunteers at Boxcar Books and The Midwest Pages to Prisoners Project

310A S. Washington St. * Bloomington, IN 47401 * 812-339-8710 * boxcar@boxcarbooks.org * www.boxcarbooks.org   

the midwest pages to prisoners project is moving to a smaller space! as a result we need to downsize our collection by selling duplicate copies or books that are rarely requested by the incarcerated people that we serve. prices will be $1/hardcover, $0.50/paperback, and after 2pm, $2 for whatever you can fit in a bag. all proceeds from this sale benefit our continued efforts of sending free books to incarcerated people. e-mail mwpp@pagestoprisoners.org for more information.

The prom photo booth photos have arrived!  You can view/download them from the Rock N' Roll Prom 2008 gallery.

Just add this code to your profile to display this sweet banner on your blog, MySpace, or Facebook page:

Mary Hallinan has made this fierce flyer for prom! 

View full-sized image of poster or download a PDF of the poster to print and help promote!

By Naomi Wolsieffer and Steven Stothard

We came into the New Year just days after a fun-filled Dance Party vs. Karaoke Benefit at the Bluebird, and if you missed it, you missed out! Thanks to all who came to hear the talents of local songbirds, would-be rock-stars, and those who danced along! Santa barely kept his beard on, what with all the cheer and beer, and we've got pictures to prove it. Check out the silliness that ensued Santa's lap on our website, boxcarbooks.org.  You can judge for yourself who was Naughty or Nice!

We had a great 2007, and we're on the road to another year of bookishness and community lovin'.  We carried 56 classes-worth of textbooks (our biggest load yet!) for the Spring 2008 semester, and our rush is just now calming down. With three full bookshelves, we've had to double-staff many a shift in order to restock the demand. We also just had a new computer installed, which would have come in handy when the line was all the way into the meeting room.  From here on out, you can expect faster and friendlier (e.g. no more cursing at the computer) service at the counter.

Since implementing a textbook section, we've had many a curious professor at IU approach us about carrying their course-loads. It's great to have so many interested parties, and we'd love to stock your reading materials, required and recommended. Finding the space for all of this has been interesting, and we're getting more and more organized about it. "How can I get Boxcar Books to stock my course reading material?" you ask. It's pretty simple, really. What we need from professors is this:

1. Your Course Number and Title
2. Enrollment Number
3. Title and Author of each book
4. ISBNs and Publisher, if available
5. Specific Editions, if pertinent
6. Are the Books Required or Recommended?
7. Professor Contact Information

This information is due March 15th for the summer semester, June 1st for the fall semester, and November 1st for the spring semester.  Send in all fields to abbey@boxcarbooks.org by these dates to get your books in at Boxcar. Don't forget we have a free meeting space for your out-of-class needs! Stop in, call us (812)339-8710, or email our events coordinator at steven@boxcarbooks.org to inquire about using the room.

Now, what if you're not a professor, student, or local with prior knowledge of our lovely, little establishment? Well, come on in!  We stock all kinds of top-quality new and used books on gender, race, politics, history, environment, food, DIY, music, art, comic books/graphic novels, fiction, and an ever-expanding children's section!  If you want to see us in the flesh, come celebrate our 6-year Anniversary this February!  Boxcar Books is turning 6 years old on February 2nd, and throwing an open-house and dessert party!  For six years, Boxcar has been a hub for community, culture, and activism in Bloomington, and we owe our success to our loyal customers, supportive Bloomington community, and volunteers.  To thank all of these valuable individuals and, hopefully, make some new friends, we're opening up our doors for an evening of delicious desserts, an art show provided by the Deep Roots Animal Sanctuary, a great sale, and other surprises.  After 7pm we'll have a store-wide 20% new and used book sale, while all books under $2 will be $0.50!!  Please, stop by for drinks and desserts in a casual format to celebrate the continued success of Bloomington's only non-profit, all volunteer run bookstore and community center.  We're determined to thwart that ol' groundhog's pending prediction of more cold, by huddling in the storefront and handing out warm fuzzies to every hungry community member.  So, join us for some groundhog-breaking, uh, I mean, ground-breaking birthday cheer!

On Saturday February 9th, we're happy to host IU professor and local author Alyce Miller as she will be reading and signing from her new book Water: Nine Stores published by Sarabande Books. Winner of the 2006 Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction, Water weaves stories told from different perspectives of age, race, and gender, acknowledge a common rhythm in each of us unsettled desire. Norman Rush writes, "Alyce Miller has the eye and the skills for getting the short story right ... Miller gives us solidly-crafted neorealist studies in contemporary American unhappiness and dislocation. She writes vividly about people in various degrees of emotional extremis, and she avoids the temptation to invent resolutions for the dilemmas they're in. She deftly captures individual psychologies."  Please join us for this informal evening of food, drink, and community with Alyce and her new book from 7:30 - 9 PM on Saturday, February 9th. We will have copies of her new book for sale in the store!

Another neat way to get involved with Boxcar Books is to lend a hand and time to our Store Inventory "Party".  We'll be closing the store on Sunday, February 17th to do a complete store inventory.  This involves matching the books we have stocked on the shelves with the books listed in our computer's inventory.  It can take several hours, FUN hours, with rockin' tunes and silly volunteers galore.  We can use all the help we can get!  For more details or to volunteer, contact 812-339-8710 or email steven@boxcarbooks.org.

In case you miss the Anniversary Party sale, we?ll be having a Valentine's Day sale, the day of (Thursday, February 14th), with a 20% discount on all used books and 10% off new books with pink or red on the original book cover. 

Your sweetheart's tired of chocolate? give 'em something to digest with their mind!

Then, once you've bought your special someone a good book or two, take 'em to the Vagina Monologues that same night.  In case you've got dinner planned for the 14th, the Monologues will also be performed the next day, Friday, February 15th.  An international phenomenon that has graced stages within the month of February since 1998, with off-Broadway beginnings two years prior, the Vagina Monologues will be performed both nights at 7pm in the Indiana University Memorial Union's Whittenburger Auditorium.  For more information, turn the page!  We took the time to speak with IU's Women's Student Association President, Vanessa Holiday to learn more about this year?s installation of the Vagina Monologues.

Recently, we've been tabling fools!  When we're not busy selling and/or reading great literature, we enjoy further bonding and the enrichment of relationships with local businesses and organizations. It has always been our goal to either co-sponsor or support other valuable projects in Bloomington, and one of the ways we attempt this is to table at local events, author readings, and cultural happenings around town. We?re thankful to be a part of the newest installment of author readings at the Waldron Arts Center sponsored by IU and the MFA Creative Writing Program. Thanks Cathy Bowman! We were able to table at "A Day On, Not a Day Off: Youth Activism Summit" at Rhino's Youth Center, where we met a lot of motivated Bloomington youth and listen to some rockin' MLK Day inspired tunes from some very young musicians. Thanks Kerri! We were also privileged to be at the 2008 PRIDE LGBTQ Film Festival. What an amazing celebration, definitely Bloomington's claim to flame! Thanks Danielle! We are also going to be tabling at the Voices of A People's History at the Bloomington Playwrites' Project later in February, where local actors, authors, and activists will be reading the rabble-rousing writings and speeches of American history's most important roustabouts and radicals! Thanks Bob and Anthony Arnove!

Thanks to everyone for coming to support Boxcar during our Six Year Anniversary Party.  For six years, Boxcar has been proud to be a center for community, culture, knowledge, and activism in Bloomington.  We owe our success to our loyal customers, supportive Bloomington and IU community, volunteers and supporters.  Don't forget the Rock 'n' Roll Prom on April 19th at The Bluebird!

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