My new favorite bookstore in Chelsea, Michigan
April 15, 2025 6:32 PM Subscribe
What a great story! I can't believe it took so little time that way!
I'm so glad I got to read this - and I'm looking forward to sharing it with a friend.
Thanks for posting this, dfm500!
posted by kristi at 7:58 PM on April 15
I'm so glad I got to read this - and I'm looking forward to sharing it with a friend.
Thanks for posting this, dfm500!
posted by kristi at 7:58 PM on April 15
Because when I saw it on Reddit it was in the "heartwarming bullshit so you can't critique", but, um, even for a bucket brigade this is an absurdly inefficient setup. You need to zipper the lines into one so that you're passing to someone opposite you with a minimum of rotation. I'd wager the local chiropractor had a hand in this.
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 9:15 PM on April 15 [2 favorites]
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 9:15 PM on April 15 [2 favorites]
!! there are collisions when I imagine that, DeepSeaHaggis. Name? Vid? Scouting handbook diagram?
posted by clew at 9:35 PM on April 15 [1 favorite]
posted by clew at 9:35 PM on April 15 [1 favorite]
I'm imagining Deep Sea Haggis's model as two rows of people facing each other but staggered, so if I were part of the line I would have someone facing me to my left and someone facing me to my right. I would take a book from left-hand person, and hand it to right-hand person, not needing to turn my head or torso to do it. I can see the ergonomic advantage of this but also imagine that it would somehow take more people, but given how close together people were in the one-dimension bucket brigade line, I'm probably wrong.
posted by Well I never at 9:52 PM on April 15 [1 favorite]
posted by Well I never at 9:52 PM on April 15 [1 favorite]
I remember this from a few years back:
Looks like Michigan might've had marginally nicer weather for it.
posted by Calvin and the Duplicators at 2:54 AM on April 16 [1 favorite]
Looks like Michigan might've had marginally nicer weather for it.
posted by Calvin and the Duplicators at 2:54 AM on April 16 [1 favorite]
Similar thing happened for a branch of the nearby Ypsilanti District Library a few years back.
So cool
posted by JoeXIII007 at 3:46 AM on April 16 [1 favorite]
So cool
posted by JoeXIII007 at 3:46 AM on April 16 [1 favorite]
Sweet to see. I don't know the store, but now I want to.
Decades ago (gulp) I helped more another Michigan independent bookstore and it was quite an experience. We had to cross a very busy street. It was also a vertical move, from a basement warren to a first floor location (with a window!). And we had to keep at least one location open at all times.
So we laid out sections in the new space (I visited a few months ago, and they were still using some of the signs I made in 19mumblemumble), assembled a squad, arranged a huge amount of xerox boxes (some sourced from the original Kinko's), and started a furious process of boxing up and assembling stacks of boxes on hand trucks. Each person wrangled a stack up stairs, across a busy street, and into the new space, where they went up a ramp (handicap accessible at last!) and off to the sections awaiting them. Two people staffed two cash registers, one in each spot.
Throughout the 2? 3? day process customers did visit, browse, ask for help, and buy books. We did enjoy telling folks in the old spot that they had to head to the new one for *that* category or title. Thankfully nobody got hurt, although there were a few faceoffs between book haulers and drivers.
posted by doctornemo at 6:08 AM on April 16 [7 favorites]
Decades ago (gulp) I helped more another Michigan independent bookstore and it was quite an experience. We had to cross a very busy street. It was also a vertical move, from a basement warren to a first floor location (with a window!). And we had to keep at least one location open at all times.
So we laid out sections in the new space (I visited a few months ago, and they were still using some of the signs I made in 19mumblemumble), assembled a squad, arranged a huge amount of xerox boxes (some sourced from the original Kinko's), and started a furious process of boxing up and assembling stacks of boxes on hand trucks. Each person wrangled a stack up stairs, across a busy street, and into the new space, where they went up a ramp (handicap accessible at last!) and off to the sections awaiting them. Two people staffed two cash registers, one in each spot.
Throughout the 2? 3? day process customers did visit, browse, ask for help, and buy books. We did enjoy telling folks in the old spot that they had to head to the new one for *that* category or title. Thankfully nobody got hurt, although there were a few faceoffs between book haulers and drivers.
posted by doctornemo at 6:08 AM on April 16 [7 favorites]
The thing I like best about this is that there are clearly way more people than needed in those lines.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:15 AM on April 16
posted by jacquilynne at 7:15 AM on April 16
In less than two hours, Serendipity Books’ entire inventory had been transferred — in alphabetical order, no less.
How absolutely lovely. And I bet nearly everyone had a very nice time. Thank you for sharing this!
posted by brainwane at 8:11 AM on April 16
How absolutely lovely. And I bet nearly everyone had a very nice time. Thank you for sharing this!
posted by brainwane at 8:11 AM on April 16
This was a wonderfully human and much needed - if all too brief - diversion from my current all-day diet of outrage, disgust, repulsion and despair. Thanks!
posted by thecincinnatikid at 8:21 AM on April 16
posted by thecincinnatikid at 8:21 AM on April 16
even for a bucket brigade this is an absurdly inefficient setup
Not everything in life is an optimization problem, thankfully.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 8:30 AM on April 16 [5 favorites]
Not everything in life is an optimization problem, thankfully.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 8:30 AM on April 16 [5 favorites]
There is a great zipper formation at the end of the opening set of clips once they are inside.
posted by soelo at 10:56 AM on April 16
posted by soelo at 10:56 AM on April 16
The Jiffy plant is a must see if in the area. The Purple Rose theatre. Interesting town. I lived there for a few months and serendipity was a favorite. I'm glad they expanded.
posted by clavdivs at 11:02 AM on April 16 [1 favorite]
posted by clavdivs at 11:02 AM on April 16 [1 favorite]
Love this. Porter Square Books in Cambridge MA did the same thing in October.
posted by rednikki at 1:04 PM on April 16 [1 favorite]
posted by rednikki at 1:04 PM on April 16 [1 favorite]
A family friend who lives in the Denver area told me that customers of the Tattered Cover did something like this 30-odd years ago.
posted by brujita at 10:17 PM on April 16 [1 favorite]
posted by brujita at 10:17 PM on April 16 [1 favorite]
Not everything in life is an optimization problem, thankfully.
But won't someone think of their poor rotating backs? And this is one-time volunteer labor for a bookstore so they're probably nerds and out-of-shape
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 10:53 PM on April 16 [1 favorite]
But won't someone think of their poor rotating backs? And this is one-time volunteer labor for a bookstore so they're probably nerds and out-of-shape
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 10:53 PM on April 16 [1 favorite]
It's good, they're getting a stretch!
(heard online: haven't they heard of BOXES?)
posted by mittens at 4:38 AM on April 17 [2 favorites]
(heard online: haven't they heard of BOXES?)
posted by mittens at 4:38 AM on April 17 [2 favorites]
Said by someone who has never moved dozens of boxes of books.
posted by Mitheral at 5:10 AM on April 17
posted by Mitheral at 5:10 AM on April 17
Said by someone who has never moved dozens of boxes of books.
Yeah, def first thing to cross my mind - probably because we recently regained control of our second floor study by tackling the overflowing wall of floor to ceiling bookshelves. Filled a dozen wine case boxes with 200+ books which we donated to the library resale co-op - which necessitated me carrying them to the car: down 16 steps to the first floor foyer, down eight more steps from the porch to the walk, then down 16 more to the street. Split that chore over two days and my back still ached for days.
posted by thecincinnatikid at 7:20 AM on April 17 [1 favorite]
Yeah, def first thing to cross my mind - probably because we recently regained control of our second floor study by tackling the overflowing wall of floor to ceiling bookshelves. Filled a dozen wine case boxes with 200+ books which we donated to the library resale co-op - which necessitated me carrying them to the car: down 16 steps to the first floor foyer, down eight more steps from the porch to the walk, then down 16 more to the street. Split that chore over two days and my back still ached for days.
posted by thecincinnatikid at 7:20 AM on April 17 [1 favorite]
This is the most Michigan thing that ever happened in the time that Michigan has been a thing. I love Michigan.
posted by lextex at 11:24 AM on April 17 [2 favorites]
posted by lextex at 11:24 AM on April 17 [2 favorites]
ABC nightly news with David Muir ran thier last story with the serendipity book moving.
cool
posted by clavdivs at 4:01 PM on April 17
cool
posted by clavdivs at 4:01 PM on April 17
nerds
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 4:14 AM on April 18
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 4:14 AM on April 18
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Chelsea is also the home of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix. So, a pretty awesome little place.
posted by Well I never at 6:35 PM on April 15 [1 favorite]