Bart's Books

During one of our food stops in Ojai, California, we found this gem of a bookstore: Bart's Books. I was immediately captivated by its uniqueness. The outside of the store had bookshelves filled with books on its walls. My hubby and I were a little stunned to see how available these books were to any passerby and were surprised to see how trusting the store was of its books. We had to go inside. And boy, were we delighted!

Bart's Books was pretty much an open air bookstore. There were bookcases and bookcases of books all around. There was either sheet metal or a piece of wood covering above the bookcases to protect the book from the elements. There were so many books that we, in fact, felt a bit overwhelmed. Every time we finished browsing down a row of books, we noticed that there was another row just around the corner. 

There was also a small building in the center of the store where customers were able to enter. Of course, the building contained even more rooms with books. I began to wonder if this small building used to be someone's home because we at one point, we were standing in a room that appeared to be a kitchen but was now converted as the culinary book section. So we asked the cashier for more information on the bookstore. 

According to the cashier, Bart's Books began in the 1960s by a man named Richard Bart... (I can't recall his full name). He had so many books that he used to display them on bookcases outside of his home for people to browse and purchase through the "honor system" (coffee cans were left on top of the bookcases for people to drop their money in). 

Today, Bart's Books has expanded. The building at the center of the store was actually Richard Bart's house. The store has also continued the "honor system" by displaying many books on the outside of the store. How neat is that?!

We were glad that we took the time to stop and visit this unique bookstore. When travel becomes safe again here in California, we plan to visit it again.

Have you been to Bart's Books? If so, what did you think of it?