Wouldn’t it be nice if we had more stores that still looked like this? They give so much more personality and hospitality to the urban landscape. This October 1946 photo is of the Westwood Book Store at 10926 Weyburn Ave in the Westwood area of LA. It looks so welcoming, doesn’t it? But what intrigues me is that part of the sign that says “Rental Library.” Did they rent books? Was that a common practice? Sort of like a commercial version of a library? If anybody remembers this practice, I’d love to hear from you.
Gregory H. says: “According to the L.A. Times, the Westwood Book Store (“the most comprehensive – and courteous – book store in Southern California”) closed in 1983, despite efforts to try to save it. However, there were still 900 other book outlets in Los Angeles and Orange counties thanks to the recent rise of the chain bookstores Crown, Waldenbooks and B. Dalton.
Oscar S. says: “”Small rental libraries that circulated popular fiction and nonfiction for a small fee flourished as sideline businesses in many U.S. and British nonbook retail and service outlets from the late 1920s through the 1940s. Publisher’s Weekly estimated that there were 50,000 of these so-called drugstore libraries in the United States alone in 1935.” – “Revolving, Not Revolutionary Books: The History of Rental Libraries until 1960” by Kathleen M. Rassuli and Stanley C. Hollander
I couldn’t find anywhere with the exact same address as the Westwood Book Store, so this December 2022 view is about as close as I could get.
For those of you who know the area. the book store was down the block from the iconic Fox Westwood Theatre.
When Hemingway went to Paris with his wife in the early 20s, he met Sylvia Beach at her Shakespeare & Co. bookstore. For a nominal fee, the public could enroll in a program wherein members could borrow books. Hence, a “lending library”.
I’m guessing this wasn’t unusual in Paris or in the U.S.
Ah yes, that’s a good point. I hadn’t considered that. Thanks!
There were lots of bookstores in Westwood Village when I was in high school and at UCLA. I don’t remember any in that particular location. So, it had been long gone by the 1970s.
I agree that it would be nice if stores looked more like this book store. It has a sort of “Movie set” look about it. BTW, many drug stores rented books back in the 1940s. My father, who was an avid reader of crime novels, always seemed to have a Raymond Chandler novel, or other popular books that he would get from a local drug store when we lived in Burbank,back then. I think you would pay ten cents to check out a book for a few weeks. I guess this was wide spread in the LA area. I do miss those days, and I always look forward to your posts, Martin. You have adopted Los Angles as your home and all of us are well informed about the history of this amazing part of California, as a result. Thanks so much for the effort that must go into it all.
Thanks for that interesting tidbit of info about lending libraries. I had no idea drug stores (or anyone) did that sort of thing!
I went to a small bookstore in Westwood some time around 1970. It was a charming place and I found one of the most special books I own, and which enabled me to fulfill two of my life’s dreams. I tried after to go back, but it had disappeared. I could never remember whether it was Le Conte or Weyburn, but it was this exact location from Westwood Blvd. and on that side of the street, so I’m guessing this must have been the one. Only recently I was in Westwood and yet again drove up and down trying to figure out where it had been. So thank you for this. At least I know now I didn’t imagine it.
Hey Mary! I’m so glad this post could help you solve a long-standing mystery! How funny that this would be the one you’ve been puzzling over!
Indeed! It’s been one of my life’s little mysteries. Such a shame it’s not still there. Whoever owned it then had a great selection of books not usually stocked at other places. Certainly wouldn’t be nowadays. So sad that these small unique bookstores are mostly gone.
I forwarded this to my friend James Fugate, who was one of the owners of the fantastic black bookstore, Eso Won Books in Leimert Village (just closed).
He pointed out that LA has a lending bookstore in Boyle Heights now!
https://www.librosschmibros.org/
Thanks PDQ. It’s wonderful to know the spirit of lending libraries still lives!