welcome.
Since 1809, the Andover Bookstore has found a home on Main Street in Andover, Massachusetts. Enter the charming 1850s English tudor the store currently resides in and give yourself over to the ambiance: the exposed wood beams, the cherished smell of ink and paper, and a carefully curated selection of books filling shelves and tabletops in this admittedly small but no less fantastical bookstore.
Collect a stamp or a bookmark when you visit as a keepsake, take pictures, and buy a book, greeting cards, or local artists’ designs to support the country’s oldest independent bookstore!
Our History
The Andover Bookstore originally operated on the grounds of the Andover Theological Seminary, a graduate school founded in 1807, which shared campus space with Phillips Academy. The bookstore was run alongside the historic Andover Press, which printed books, maps, and newspapers such as the Journal of Humanity and the Andover Townsman, until the printing press was discountinued in the 1960s. While the Andover Bookstore has moved locations a number of times these past 215 years, it’s the people who keep the Andover Bookstore alive and well, customers and staff alike.
1809 to 1866. The campus of Andover Theological Seminary
1866 to 1907. 37 Main Street
1907 to 1963. Andover Press at 60 Main Street
1963 to 2018. Olde Andover Village at 89R Main Street
2018 to present. Andover Bookstore’s current location at 74 Main Street
In the News...
Meet Our Staff
Joanna
Fave Genre: Fantasy and Mystery/Thriller
Shop manager and dedicated reader. Books are a safe and inspired space for her. When she's captivated by a good book, people often have to call her name more than once to get her attention.
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.
Abby
Fave Genres: Literary Fiction, Memoir, and Nonfiction
Abby's been both obsessed with books and chronically online for as long as she can remember. She puts her skills to work on our socials outside of ABS as a communications leader with over a decade of experience across non-profits, healthcare, and everything bookish.