Russell Books is an
independent bookstore in
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 province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, 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 List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
. 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's Quartier international at the north end of Old Montreal. Its borough is Ville-Marie. Construction began in 1977 and completed in 1983; the Palais opened on 21 May 1983 ...
; 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 b ...
'' 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 at the corner of View and ]Douglas
Douglas may refer to:
People
* Douglas (given name)
* Douglas (surname)
Animals
* Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking
*Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...
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.]
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 millio ...
.
See also
* Munro's Books
Munro's Books is a large independent bookstore in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Munro's has a staff of 30 and a large children's book section. The store celebrated its 50th anniversary in September 2013.
Since 1984, the store has been loca ...
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