The store is run by the Library Foundation SD, and the money raised will go toward supporting the San Diego Public Library system
When Patrick Stewart walked into the vacant building that would become the new Library Shop Mission Hills bookstore, he was hit by two feelings: It’s perfect. And oh, boy.
The empty bookshelves lining the walls spoke volumes.
But things needed to be spruced up and brought up to code. The building had housed the Mission Hills library from 1961 to 2019 and then sat unused for about five years, not counting the occasional squatter.
“We saw a lot of potential,” said Stewart, the chief executive officer of Library Foundation SD, which supports the library system through outreach, philanthropy and advocacy. “To be able to be in a community that is super, super supportive of the library, and super supportive of the Library Foundation, I think you couldn’t be in a better environment, a more welcoming environment, a very literary environment.”
After months of construction, shopping for inventory, ditching the dropped ceiling to expose the more interesting curved rafters, sanding and sealing the concrete floors and booking the first readings and events, the foundation is opening the bookstore on Dec. 1.
Scott Ehrig-Burgess, the shop’s manager, said this store will have a similar vibe to the The Library Shop at the San Diego Central Library, which he described as “a super cute, fun, independent bookstore with a focus on stuff for library lovers and book nerds.” But the Mission Hills shop will be curated for its neighborhood, with a different mix from what is sold downtown. “The usual indie bestsellers and books that are hand-sold by our staff. There’ll be a lot of local authors,” he added.
Opening week features a conversation with Cory Doctorow and an open house for local authors.
“Celebrations continue all week long with events, author visits, storytimes, discount deals and games. Proceeds support all 37 branches of the San Diego Public Library,” the foundation website says.
Built for books
On a recent sunny Wednesday, Stewart’s voice sounded tinny as it bounced off the concrete floors and bare walls.
The children’s area, where little hands once tugged at “The Story About Ping” and Shel Silverstein’s poems, will become the new reading zone. The middle area of the library, which once held desktop computers on hefty tables, will again have tables, this time with books for sale. A flex space that can fit up to around 100 chairs will be at the back for readings and events. Shelves will continue to wrap around the walls.
The exterior got fresh paint, but what didn’t change was the bones of the building, with its sloping roof and façade brightened by many windows. Even the font of “Library Shop Mission Hills” will match the old logo, Stewart said.
For the building to again hold books is “a perfect transition,” Ehrig-Burgess said.
It almost didn’t.
When the library outgrew its roughly 4,400-square-foot space on West Washington Street and moved into its new building a few blocks east, the old library’s future was in limbo. Should it be torn down? Should it be repurposed? Could part of it be salvaged, but its shape reimagined as housing?
The community, including the Mission Hills Town Council, requested that any replacement save the building, which was designed in the Googie Modern style by Robert Bradt, a prolific local mid-century architect who also worked on a Hotel Del Coronado addition, several banks, Marine Corps barracks and multiple San Diego public schools.
“Any proposed future development (such as business or mixed-use with ground floor retail, restaurant or office/co-working space with extended hours) should preserve the original architectural intent by maintaining the existing façade and also be compatible with the historic character of the neighborhood,” the town council asked.
Turning it into a bookstore checked several boxes, Stewart said. The Library Foundation wanted to add a second shop, but commercial real estate is expensive in San Diego. “At the same time, the city was trying to figure out what to do with this space.” The city is charging the library foundation below-market rent, which helps the shop direct revenue to the library system. “It’s not like a commercial venture. It’s library-centric,” he said.
Selling books for revenue
Books as a revenue stream? That might seem like a lot to wish for in 2025. But it works. Sales at the foundation’s downtown shop have steadily increased, from $153,000 in fiscal 2022 to $222,000 in fiscal 2023 to $300,000 in fiscal 2024, tax records show.
Libraries sometimes sell used books to raise funds. Some libraries also have built-in gift shops. But running an independent bookstore where new, not secondhand, books are sold is, well, novel.
“Library Shop SD runs two neighborhood, independent bookstores whose net revenue supports the Library Foundation SD. Both locations — in Mission Hills and at the Central Library — serve as excellent ways to engage San Diego Public Library patrons, many of whom go on to become vocal advocates for the Library. This is a new model that, as far as we know, is not found in other library systems or library foundations,” Stewart added.
