The Book Barn
41 West Main St.
Niantic, CT
Open Everyday.
9:00am to 9:00pm
(Closed Christmas & Thanksgiving). |
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We Sell Used Books
Our Many Book Barn Buildings
"Best Used Bookstore to Get Lost in" - New Haven Advocate
We refer to the original Book Barn as The Main Barn, which is a three story old barn. Ellis Island is where we house our “Book Immigration”, the newest arrivals live here until they are sorted and stocked in their appropriate building. The Annex, Hades, The Haunted Bookshop, and The Last Page all reside on the premises of The Book Barn.
Click here for a one-page guide to the Barn buildings you can print out to help you plan your visit.
The Main Barn:
In April 1988, The Book Barn opened for business in what is now called “The Main Barn”. At that time, the used bookstore consisted of a mere three bookcases, 800 books, and a yard sale couch. An unfortunate fire in the antique store above the bookstore in 1990 destroyed nearly everything. With support from family and friends, we were able to reopen for business, new and improved, in April 1991. In 1992, The Book Barn expanded into the upstairs of the Main Barn, and it seemed hard to believe we would ever fill all that space! That Christmas, we actually had a Christmas tree on the balcony. Click here to see the sections kept in the Main Barn.
When you are paying for your books, you can go to the Main Barn, where our cash register is located and where we accept all four major credit cards as well as cash and personal checks. There is another register down at the buying area, where you may pay for books using cash or a check but not credit cards. |
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Ellis Island:
Mr. Book Barn and his cohorts buy books here seven days a week, 363 days a year. Named after the American landmark, Ellis Island is our book immigration station, where we buy and sort new arrivals. During the summer months we take in an estimated eight to ten thousand books a week. Ellis is located just inside the parking lot. Many of our customers stop at Ellis to browse the new arrivals and never get any further. |
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The Annex:
It wasn’t long before we had books packed wall to wall and floor to rafters in The Main Barn. This old cinderblock garage was converted into an overstock storage area, and The Annex was born. The overstock books found homes in their respected genres, and fiction took over The Annex. We are continually changing and stretching our shelves, so The Annex has been revamped again and again. Click here to see the sections kept in the The Annex. |
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Hades:
Hades is the makeshift building beneath the white awning on the way to the back of the property. It was originally used as a place to sort pocket books by genre before they were alphabetized by author; there are still shelves of new arrival pocket books there. At the moment it shelves vampire or bitey books, alphabetical chick lit and the beginning of the alphabetic section of mysteries and thrillers. |
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The Haunted:
This wonderful two-story building started out as Mrs. Book Barn’s Halloween Party Spot. One bright spring day, Mr. Book Barn approached the beautiful Mrs. Book Barn and said; “ My beautiful wife, would it be okay if I were to store some boxes of books in your Halloween Barn, just until more shelves can be built?” The charming and yes, we dare say again, beautiful Mrs. Book Barn looked lovingly at her husband and said; “Of course my tired and overworked husband, you may store your boxes there!” ---Flash forward to 2007 --- The Haunted Book Barn is located way back behind the gardens, and is guarded by a herd of unruly cats. The Haunted supposedly belongs to Mrs. Book Barn, but we assert squatter’s rights. ---ahem, storage, right? So now the Huanted holds the second portion of the alphabetically-filed mysteries and thrillers. For reasons too long and tiresome to be recounted (sigh), the second floor is again only used for storage.
There is some debate as to whether The Haunted is really Haunted. There have been a number of people who believe they felt or saw something in The Haunted. Others, however, have left The Haunted with nary a paranormal twinge, we invite you to come see for yourself.
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The Last Page:
It was meant to be a landing site for large lot purchases. What it quickly became was a last resort for less desirable books on their way to the dumpster - hence the name. But it was too good a spot, so we added a porch, started using it for sports books and earth and animal sciences, and then attached the property's original outhouse. Then we filled the outhouse with shelves and books. Book Barn Business as usual... Click here to see what's inside.
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The Book Barn Downtown:
Because More is Better.
Even with all the buildings we have on the main campus, we eventually ran out of space. Books, books, books.. everywhere. Piled on the floors. Piled between the bookcases. Jammed sideways on the shelves. It was getting ugly. So we cast far and wide and were lucky enough to find a place less than a mile from the Main Barn, and BOOK BARN DOWNTOWN was created. Philosophy and religion went there, and all the performing arts... Click here to see the full list. |
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The Book Barn Midtown:
Because More-er is Better-er?
In 2009 the laws of physics struck again, and we had more books than bookshelves. Fortunately a space had opened up a whole 140 steps from our Downtown store, in the wee alley behind the Arthur Murray Dance Studio. We signed on, and our wizardly staff had the place shelved and stocked in less than no time. The centerpiece of the store is our huge and magnificently stocked children's room, but click here to find out everything that's Midtown. |
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