Russell Books is an

independent bookstore An independent bookstore is a retail bookstore which is independently owned. Usually, independent stores consist of only a single actual store (although there are some multi-store independents). They may be structured as sole proprietorships, ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

, Canada. A family-owned business still owned and operated by the children and grandchildren of its founder, it has been labelled as the largest used bookstore in Canada."Russell Books on Fort Street a family affair". ''Victoria News'', January 2, 2008.

History

Russell Books was founded in 1962 by Reg Russell in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

. Originally launched as The Book Nook, the store became Russell Books in 1983. In 1991, Russell helped open a Victoria branch with his daughter Diana and her husband Ron DePol.Alan Hustak, "Montreal icon had Victoria connections". ''

Victoria Times-Colonist The ''Times Colonist'' is an English-language daily newspaper in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It was formed by the Sept. 2, 1980 merger of the ''Victoria Daily Times'', established in 1884, and the ''British Colonist'' (later the ''Daily C ...

'', March 10, 2007. The store is currently managed by Reg Russell's granddaughter Andrea Minter and her husband Jordan Minter. The Montreal store remained in operation until 1999, when its location was

expropriated Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...

for the expansion of the

Palais des congrès de Montréal The Palais des congrès de Montréal is a convention centre in Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as ' ...

; Reg Russell then launched the smaller Diamond Books store in another location, and operated it until selling it upon his retirement in 2004.Pat Donnelly, "It's the end of an era for local bibliophiles". ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'', August 21, 2004. Upon his retirement, Russell's antiquarian book collection was shipped to his daughter's Victoria store, while most of the store's regular stock remained with its new owners. A scene in the 1999 film ''

The Bone Collector ''The Bone Collector'' is a 1999 American crime thriller film directed by Phillip Noyce and starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. It was produced by Martin Bregman. The film is based on the 1997 crime novel of the same name written by ...

'' was shot in the Montreal store before its closure.Carla Wilson, "Russell Books a fixture in downtown Victoria". ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...

'', March 22, 2006. In 1996, Russell Books became one of the first independent bookstores in the world to place its inventory on AbeBooks. In 2005, Diana's son Brandon and his wife Charlene helped start up another store, Books on View, as a division of Russell Books, in the

Sayward Building This is a list of historic places in the City of Victoria, British Columbia entered on the Canadian Register of Historic Places, whether they are designated federally, provincially or municipally. For a list of historic places in the remainder of ...

at the corner of View and

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Streets. The Victoria store expanded its space several times, taking over the upstairs floor of an adjoining building in 2008 and taking over the neighbouring Fort Café in 2013. In 2019 the store moved across the street to a new larger location with 10,000 square feet on the main floor and 8,000 square feet below. This move required employees to manually move over half a million books. Because of the main store's expanded space, Books on View was concurrently shut down. Prior to the move, Russell Books claimed to be the largest independent used bookseller in Canada, with their locations containing over 1 million volumes. They hoped the new location would allow them to increase their inventory to 1.25 million volumes.

Guinness World Records

On November 14, 2019, as an event promoting their new location, the bookstore set a new world record for the number of stacked

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

books.

Rankings

It has been rated as one of the best bookstores in Victoria, British Columbia in ''LSE Review of Books'', published by

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 mill ...

References

{{coord, 48.424367, N, 123.364022, W, display=title Independent bookstores of Canada Shops in Victoria, British Columbia Retail companies established in 1962 1962 establishments in Quebec Shops in Montreal 1991 establishments in British Columbia

History

Guinness World Records

Rankings

See also

References