Bryn Mawr Book Store
Bryn Mawr Book Store
373 Huron Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
373 Huron Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
Categories: Book Dealers Used & Rare, Book Stores, Book Stores, Secondhand, Books, Books, Foreign, Cds, Dvds, Music, Tapes
Bookstore--Non-profit 40+ years money for scholars at Bryn Mawr PA 30K + online 5K
Bookstore sells used, out of print, rare and antiquarian books, both online 24/7 at ABEBOOKS.com (can access stock through our homepage and can purchase in the store) and at our bricks and mortar store in Cambridge, Massachusetts. We are a non-profit, all our stock being donated, raising money for the scholarship fund at Bryn Mawr College in suburban Philadelphia. We are members of MARIAB--Mass and RI Antiquarian Booksellers--and have been selling here since September, 1971. We have 30,000 books (General Stock) in the store; over 5,000 books put online, including foreign language books. Also sell LPs, CDs, DVDs, books-on-CD (and audio-tape), VHSs, music scores/librettos, and sheet music. 20 minute walk or 10 minute MBTA #72 bus from Harvard Square--2-hour Street parking sans meters.
Keywords: books, bookstores, used books, old books, MARIAB, Boston bookstores, Cambridge bookstores, Greater Boston used books, records, LPs, CDs, DVDs, Books on CD, Books on tape
Bookstore sells used, out of print, rare and antiquarian books, both online 24/7 at ABEBOOKS.com (can access stock through our homepage and can purchase in the store) and at our bricks and mortar store in Cambridge, Massachusetts. We are a non-profit, all our stock being donated, raising money for the scholarship fund at Bryn Mawr College in suburban Philadelphia. We are members of MARIAB--Mass and RI Antiquarian Booksellers--and have been selling here since September, 1971. We have 30,000 books (General Stock) in the store; over 5,000 books put online, including foreign language books. Also sell LPs, CDs, DVDs, books-on-CD (and audio-tape), VHSs, music scores/librettos, and sheet music. 20 minute walk or 10 minute MBTA #72 bus from Harvard Square--2-hour Street parking sans meters.
Keywords: books, bookstores, used books, old books, MARIAB, Boston bookstores, Cambridge bookstores, Greater Boston used books, records, LPs, CDs, DVDs, Books on CD, Books on tape
Customer Reviews for Bryn Mawr Book Store
Be the first to review Bryn Mawr Book Store - Use the thumbs to get started!
Click to Rate:
0 thumbs up, 0 thumbs down
0 thumbs up, 0 thumbs down
Interview Q&A
How long have you been in business?
Since September 29, 1971
What is your primary product or service?
Used books
How did you first become interested in your line of business? (if owner) - What is your background? (If owner or store manager)
Personally, I have loved books since I was in the third grade (or younger!) in Des Moines, Iowa, where at year's end I won a copy of Hans Brinker (Junior Illustrated Cassics) for having read and reported on more books than any other boy (or girl) in class. . . which ultimately lead to a Ph.D. from Brandeis University and a brilliant dissertation on Descartes's Meditations and to 40+ years of teaching philosophy in Greater Boston. The wish and need to augment a paltry salary, laid upon me by conniving or selfish colleagues and administrators with an arguably unenriched understanding of Adam Smith's "invisible hand" and a perception of adjunct professors as a separate class to exploit shamelessly, regardless of race, sex, gender, marital status, or age, I stormed onto the used book scene by agreeing to manage a bookstore and to see the world of books through the eyes of beloved, several now Octogenarian, colleagues.
How do you differentiate yourself from other businesses in your category and area?
We are a non-profit bookstore i.e., 503 (c) 3, with stock that is donated, rather than purchased. The stock is incredibly diverse, with nontrivial numbers of books that are far more outstanding than ordinary. For several years now we have been selling online via Abeboks.com and in the last few years have been active in promoting, or trying to promote, MARIAB (Massachusetts and Rhode Island Antiquarian Booksellers)--with more than 100 members, of which we are the only non-profit. With 30K books for sale on shelves, we are size-wise, surely, in the top 5-10% of MARIAB members, as well as Greater Boston non-MARIAB member bricks and mortar operations. Our online numbers are comparatively less impressive, with the majority of bricks and mortar stores also selling online having a much higher ratio of books online to books not online, with a trend toward a highly disproportionate ratio or even discontinuing altogether the bricks and mortar business, e.g., Boston Book Annex, Avenue Victor Hugo, McIntyre and Moore, Kate's Mystery Books, and Spencer's Mystery Books, to name a few wonderful Greater Boston stores that were ostensible casualties of high rents, the wild proliferation of e-books and e-readers, diminished foot traffic and in store sales. (Most "new" second-hand bookstores are undoubtedly online only.)
How many locations do you have and do you have plans to expand?
One. No plans to expand, presently.
Provide detailed directions to your location
20-25 minute walk from Harvard Square (A) from the Cambridge Common out Garden St. to Concord Ave. to Huron Ave; (B) from the Square out Brattle St., right onto Appleton, left onto Huron Ave.; or (C) from the Square out Mt. Auburn St., right onto Willard St., left onto Brattle St., right onto Appleton St., left onto Huron Ave. Drive: from Rt 2 (off Rt 95/128) East to Alewife Rotary (Alewife MBTA Red-Line last stop on your right), continuing right onto Alewife Parkway, over MBTA Commuter Rail bridge, past Fresh Pond Shopping Center on left, through two more rotaries (close to each other, second one by Fresh Pond Gas), to Concord Ave (stay to left of FPGas), to right turn onto Fayerweather Street and two blocks until a right onto Huron Ave. Or drive from Boston via Storrow Drive to Harvard Square and to one of the walking routes cited above OR bypass the Square by taking Alewife Parkway (straight through, bearing to the (non-sharp) right and up slight hill, out of huge intersection behind Mt. Auburn Hospital on your right and near BB&N behind you on your left), through two sets of traffic lights (at Mt. Auburn St. and Huron Ave), then right onto Huron Ave.: store will be on your left at Standish and Huron, with a large yellow awning unfurled on sunny days, nestled among stores comprising "Huron Village". Or just use your GPS!
What type of payments do you accept?
Cash and checks only in the store, with Cambridge Trust ATM very nearby. Abebooks credit card processing or checks for online orders.
Which areas do you service?
Greater Boston and Planet Earth--we have sold online all over Europe--UK, Ireland, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, Netherlands, Poland, Austria--and the USA, plus Cyprus, Israel, Hong Kong, Brazil, Peru.
Who owns your company or runs daily operations?
Bryn Mawr Book Sale, Inc.
What are your hours of operation?
Tuesday-Saturday 10 am - 5:30 pm, Thursday until 7 pm, from end of April through end of December
What is the best compliment anyone can give you?
"It's out of print--If anyone would have this book, I knew it would be you."
What is your favorite quote or Bible verse?
"There are two tasks for the philosopher: to simplify the complex and to complicate the simple." --Bertrand Russell // "Jesus wept."
Since September 29, 1971
What is your primary product or service?
Used books
How did you first become interested in your line of business? (if owner) - What is your background? (If owner or store manager)
Personally, I have loved books since I was in the third grade (or younger!) in Des Moines, Iowa, where at year's end I won a copy of Hans Brinker (Junior Illustrated Cassics) for having read and reported on more books than any other boy (or girl) in class. . . which ultimately lead to a Ph.D. from Brandeis University and a brilliant dissertation on Descartes's Meditations and to 40+ years of teaching philosophy in Greater Boston. The wish and need to augment a paltry salary, laid upon me by conniving or selfish colleagues and administrators with an arguably unenriched understanding of Adam Smith's "invisible hand" and a perception of adjunct professors as a separate class to exploit shamelessly, regardless of race, sex, gender, marital status, or age, I stormed onto the used book scene by agreeing to manage a bookstore and to see the world of books through the eyes of beloved, several now Octogenarian, colleagues.
How do you differentiate yourself from other businesses in your category and area?
We are a non-profit bookstore i.e., 503 (c) 3, with stock that is donated, rather than purchased. The stock is incredibly diverse, with nontrivial numbers of books that are far more outstanding than ordinary. For several years now we have been selling online via Abeboks.com and in the last few years have been active in promoting, or trying to promote, MARIAB (Massachusetts and Rhode Island Antiquarian Booksellers)--with more than 100 members, of which we are the only non-profit. With 30K books for sale on shelves, we are size-wise, surely, in the top 5-10% of MARIAB members, as well as Greater Boston non-MARIAB member bricks and mortar operations. Our online numbers are comparatively less impressive, with the majority of bricks and mortar stores also selling online having a much higher ratio of books online to books not online, with a trend toward a highly disproportionate ratio or even discontinuing altogether the bricks and mortar business, e.g., Boston Book Annex, Avenue Victor Hugo, McIntyre and Moore, Kate's Mystery Books, and Spencer's Mystery Books, to name a few wonderful Greater Boston stores that were ostensible casualties of high rents, the wild proliferation of e-books and e-readers, diminished foot traffic and in store sales. (Most "new" second-hand bookstores are undoubtedly online only.)
How many locations do you have and do you have plans to expand?
One. No plans to expand, presently.
Provide detailed directions to your location
20-25 minute walk from Harvard Square (A) from the Cambridge Common out Garden St. to Concord Ave. to Huron Ave; (B) from the Square out Brattle St., right onto Appleton, left onto Huron Ave.; or (C) from the Square out Mt. Auburn St., right onto Willard St., left onto Brattle St., right onto Appleton St., left onto Huron Ave. Drive: from Rt 2 (off Rt 95/128) East to Alewife Rotary (Alewife MBTA Red-Line last stop on your right), continuing right onto Alewife Parkway, over MBTA Commuter Rail bridge, past Fresh Pond Shopping Center on left, through two more rotaries (close to each other, second one by Fresh Pond Gas), to Concord Ave (stay to left of FPGas), to right turn onto Fayerweather Street and two blocks until a right onto Huron Ave. Or drive from Boston via Storrow Drive to Harvard Square and to one of the walking routes cited above OR bypass the Square by taking Alewife Parkway (straight through, bearing to the (non-sharp) right and up slight hill, out of huge intersection behind Mt. Auburn Hospital on your right and near BB&N behind you on your left), through two sets of traffic lights (at Mt. Auburn St. and Huron Ave), then right onto Huron Ave.: store will be on your left at Standish and Huron, with a large yellow awning unfurled on sunny days, nestled among stores comprising "Huron Village". Or just use your GPS!
What type of payments do you accept?
Cash and checks only in the store, with Cambridge Trust ATM very nearby. Abebooks credit card processing or checks for online orders.
Which areas do you service?
Greater Boston and Planet Earth--we have sold online all over Europe--UK, Ireland, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, Netherlands, Poland, Austria--and the USA, plus Cyprus, Israel, Hong Kong, Brazil, Peru.
Who owns your company or runs daily operations?
Bryn Mawr Book Sale, Inc.
What are your hours of operation?
Tuesday-Saturday 10 am - 5:30 pm, Thursday until 7 pm, from end of April through end of December
What is the best compliment anyone can give you?
"It's out of print--If anyone would have this book, I knew it would be you."
What is your favorite quote or Bible verse?
"There are two tasks for the philosopher: to simplify the complex and to complicate the simple." --Bertrand Russell // "Jesus wept."
Contact Bryn Mawr Book Store:
- ©2025 MiddlesexCountyBusinessList.com
- Privacy Policy
- FAQ
- Contact
This site has been visited 8,023 times