Established in 1809
Time is
soft
here.
Since 1809, the Andover Bookstore has been located on Main Street, in the heart of historic Andover, MA. We take pride in being the country’s oldest continuously operating independent bookstore, in the value we add to our local community, and in our part in the fight to save small, local independent bookstores across the country from the faceless, ruthless online corporate behemoth that threatens all of our Main Streets.
The Andover Bookstore is a quaint, enchanting, beautifully curated shop. When you walk through our door, you become a part of our rich history. While you browse, we hope you take a moment for yourself, have an encounter with the books on the shelves, chat with a knowledgeable bookseller or fellow customer about a shared favorite novel, and reclaim your most precious resource–your own attention. Step inside, and land gently here.
In the News
Our History
Over the past 215 years, the Andover Bookstore has worked hard to be the bookstore this community deserves. We have created jobs, brought authors to town, paid our fair share of taxes, given back to nonprofits and schools, and built a community around a shared love of the printed word. The bookstore is a fixture on Andover's downtown Main Street and a landmark in the Merrimack Valley Community.
We like to remind folks that the bookstore was born in the same year as Abraham Lincoln, Charles Darwin, and Edgar Allen Poe. We have weathered America’s Civil War and two World Wars and experienced the administrations of 45 US presidents, starting with Thomas Jefferson. The bookstore traces its beginnings to a wooden building on the campus of Andover Theological Seminary. Until 1960, it operated both the historic Andover Printing Press at 60 Main Street and the bookstore itself.
For many, thoughts of the Andover Bookstore bring memories of the former Olde Andover Village location, replete with a crackling fireplace, overstuffed chairs, coffee, and animal crackers. Today, Andover Bookstore is housed in a quaint English Tudor Revival house just across the street from its old location. A fireplace still crackles, animal crackers are still on the menu, and the spirit of a shared love of books remains strong. That unique joy will never change. Our storied history is the result of the community’s continued stewardship of this shop. Your support has allowed us to serve our community for a truly historic number of years. We wouldn’’t be here without YOU. Thank you.
Our Team
Sarah
Fave Genre: Literary Fiction and Graphic Memoirs
Bookseller, reader, shop manager, communer with the old shop's friendly ghosts. Sarah is a fierce advocate for local, independent bookstores (especially this one)!
Karen
Fave Genre: Contemporary and Historical Fiction.
Our most experienced bookseller, Karen has been a treasured member of the Andover Bookstore for over 30 years. She is an accomplished painter and our intrepid Events manager!
Chris
Fave Genre: Kids' Books and US History
Shaping young 4th grade minds by day, and bringing you nonfiction book recommendations by night! Chris is a full time elementary school teacher, an avid reader of history and irreverantly funny children's books, and serves as the store's longtime nonfiction and children's book buyer.
Caroline
Fave Genre: Historical and Speculative Fiction
Caroline retired from a career in teaching only to dive headfirst into Andover Bookstore's operations management. Sparks of inspiration are always flying out of her brain and into our store. If the shop looks different from the way it did last week, you can be sure it's because Caroline's had "a vision."
Beth
Fave Genre: Fiction and Historical Fiction
Beth is a busy grandmother who adds a book a week to her towering stack of TBRs. When she is not reading or grandchild-wrangling, she is dreaming of her next trip abroad.
Heather
Fave Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy and YA
Heather is a literature enthusiast who reads across all genres and all ages. She runs her own knitting and yarn shop, Needle + Purl, works full-time in communications, parents a young reader, and somehow manages to find time to make great posts on our social meda accounts.
Susan
Fave Genre: Young Adult Sci-Fi
Susan heads up our YA Sci-Fi Book Club! She graduated from Emerson with a degree in publishing and creative writing, and is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at UMass. When she isn't writing, teaching, or doing coursework, we wrangle her back to Andover to care for our beautiful bookstore.