A West London charity bookshop praised for offering ‘community and connection’ has been earmarked for potential closure. Amnesty International’s Hammersmith store is one of several the human rights organisation has said may shut following a review of costs.
Volunteers have however called on Amnesty to retain the shop and more than 2,200 people have signed an online petition at the time of writing, with Dame Sheila Hancock and The Verve’s Richard Ashcroft reportedly among those showing support.
One volunteer, former Literary Editor at The Sunday Times Susannah Ford, said the shop is frequented by all ages, with older people often dropping off books which younger customers subsequently buy. “This is a generational transfer of a love of books, a love of printed matter,” she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).
A spokesperson for Amnesty International UK said no final decisions have been made, with a consultation due to run until mid-July. Amnesty’s first ‘bookshop’ began as a stall in Hammersmith. The organisation now has nine around the country with the Hammersmith one based in a site on King Street, where it has been for the last few years.
Last month Amnesty emailed its volunteers informing them that a review had been completed assessing the financial viability of the bookshops. According to the email, seen by the LDRS, it was proposed that the shops in York, Great Malvern, Kentish Town and Hammersmith be closed as well as the online store.
Volunteers Frankie Leibe, 78, and Robert Neill, 75, said they were concerned at the prospect of Amnesty not having a bookshop left in London if both Hammersmith and Kentish Town close. They added the King Street site is the only bookshop in Hammersmith and that it delivers value to the area.
“I think it’s because it’s very much a community bookshop,” Ms Leibe said. “We have regulars that we get to know and who know us. It’s an extraordinary range of really excellent books at very modest prices, so we get people who come in who would not otherwise be able to afford books who come in on a very regular basis.”
She added. “You get to know the people who come in when you’re on your particular shift and they get to know you and come back and very often it’s just for a chat as much as anything else, especially the older clients.”
‘We get books that Waterstones doesn’t sell’
Mr Neill said: “We do get some extraordinary books in that places like Waterstones are not selling. We get books that are out of print coming in. We get people, their auntie’s died, they come down to London, they’ve got to clear the flat and they bring in 10 boxes. And some of them are sometimes very interesting books.”
“You can read people’s lives from their books,” Ms Leiebe added. The logic of shutting the bookshop just months ahead of the expected opening of the council’s major Civic Campus project just up the road on King Street has also left volunteers puzzled. “Once that’s built and it’s actually successful we’re going to get a huge amount of footfall,” Ms Leibe said.
Ms Ford, who set up the online petition, said there has been interest from several famous names including actress Dame Sheila Hancock and Richard Ashcroft of The Verve. It is also understood author Hanif Kureishi has been in touch to show support.
Ms Ford said there has been a lack of transparency from Amnesty regarding the costs involved in the proposal to shut the shop and is urging a re-think. “It delivers something more powerful than profit,” she told the LDRS. “It delivers community and connection.”
Amnesty International UK response over ‘losses’
An Amnesty International UK spokesperson said: “We have carried out a detailed review of the profitability of our nine high street shops, including the Hammersmith bookshop. These bookshops are part of our fundraising operation and exist to deliver a profit so they can contribute funds to support Amnesty’s human rights work.
“Sadly, some of our shops have made – and are forecast to make – losses. This is in no way a reflection of the commitment, capability, or work ethic of the team of staff and volunteers that have dedicated their time to operating the shop.
“We have launched a formal consultation process with affected staff in the loss-making shops, which is planned to end mid-July; and as such no final decisions have been made concerning any of the shops proposed for closure. Final decisions will be made in consideration of the responses to that consultation.”
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