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Moe's Books
Moe's Books storefront in 2024
General information
Address2476 Telegraph Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94704

Moe's Books is an American bookstore near the University of California, Berkeley located on Telegraph Avenue. With four floors, the bookstore stocks over 200,000 new and used books in various genres. Founded in 1959, it is considered by many news outlets to be one of San Francisco Bay Area's historic and culturally significant bookstores.

History

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1959–2020: founding, Telegraph Avenue location, book theft

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The bookstore was founded by Moe and Barbara Moskowitz in 1959, with its original location on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley, California. The bookstore was founded partly due to Moe Moskowitz's dissatisfaction with trade-in values at other American bookstores.[1] In the 1960s, it moved to its current location on Telegraph Avenue where it shared a building with Print Mint until the latter moved out in 1966.[2][3]

Moe Moskowitz ran the bookstore until his death in 1997, after which his daughter, Doris Moskowitz, assumed responsibility for its operations. In 2014, the Berkeley Historical Society installed a plaque outside of the bookstore in Moe Moskowitz's honor.[1] In 2016, Doris Moskowitz published the book Radical Bookselling: A Life of Moe Moskowitz in honor of her father and the history of Moe's Books.[2]

In 2016, a van full of rare books valued at around $350,000 total, owned by bookseller Lawrence Van De Carr, was stolen in Oakland, California. Van De Carr immediately reported it to the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America, which dispatched an alert to nearby booksellers. Two men, Joshua Anderson and a since-unidentified accomplice, attempted to sell some of the stolen books to Moe's Books, including first editions of No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy and Pylon by William Faulkner, citing that the books were previously owned by their uncle. Some of the employees at Moe's Books, who had received the recent alert from the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America, directed the two men to the bookstore's rare books section to stall time while notifying police. Anderson was ultimately arrested after attempting to flee the bookstore through the front, while his accomplice managed to escape through the back.[4]

Many notable figures have worked with Moe's Books and/or Moe Moskowitz. Steve Wasserman, the publisher at Heyday Books, wrote about the bookstore in his memoir, Tell Me Something, Tell Me Anything, Even If It’s a Lie, crediting Moe Moskowitz for his education in bookselling and literature.[5] Bob Baldock and Jonathan Lethem both worked at the bookstore for a few years.[6][2]

2020–present: COVID-19 and union

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The first floor of Moe's Books, stocking children's books, trade fiction, and genres.

In 2020, the bookstore set up a GoFundMe to ensure its survival through the COVID-19 pandemic with a fundraising goal of $100,000.[7] The same year, on March 9, Moe's Books staff unionized and joined the Industrial Workers of the World due to concerns over safety protocols.[8][9] Having failed to unionize a decade before, the staff received helpful input and guidance from fellow booksellers at Elliott Bay Book Company and Bookshop Santa Cruz.[10][11]

After some troubles between staff and management, including an incident where management fired a new employee after telling him not to speak to union members, Doris Moskowitz eventually recognized the union with a contract in 2021.[12] In 2022, Kalie McGiurl, a book worker and union member, chronicled the Moe's Books union's experiences on the Verso Books website.[13]

Due to e-commerce, as well as urban decay on Telegraph Avenue, Moe's Books remains one of the few bookstores near University of California, Berkeley still open. Due to its collection of books, totaling over 200,000, and its amount of staff, with around 25 employees, it is considered the biggest bookstore in the San Francisco Bay Area.[1][2]

Media

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AFAR included the bookstore on their list of favorite bookstores in California.[14] Several publications, including Alta Journal, East Bay Times, Sacramento Bee, CBS, and 7x7, have recommended the bookstore on their respective lists for bookstores in the San Francisco Bay Area.[15][16][17][18][19][20]

The bookstore appears in a scene of the movie The Graduate.[21]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Jones, Carolyn (February 20, 2014). "New plaque honors Berkeley's beloved Moe's Books". SFGate.
  2. ^ a b c d Garner, Dwight (July 3, 2019). "The Legend of Moe's Books". The New York Times.
  3. ^ Estren, Mark James (1993). A History of Underground Comics (4th ed.). Berkeley: Ronin Publishing. ISBN 978-0914171645.
  4. ^ Lyons, Jenna (February 22, 2016). "Van filled with $350,000 in rare books stolen in Oakland". SFGate.
  5. ^ Furio, Joanne (2024-10-07). "Steve Wasserman recounts his life at pinnacle of publishing in new memoir". Berkeleyside. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  6. ^ "Remembering Bob Baldock, who fought alongside Fidel Castro in Cuban Revolution and co-founded Berkeley bookstore". Berkeleyside. 2023-10-11. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  7. ^ Rasmus, Allie (2020-10-27). "Moe's, landmark Berkeley bookstore, endures economic hardships of pandemic". KTVU FOX 2. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  8. ^ Haber, Zack (2021-04-02). "Building on a radical tradition, workers at Moe's Books unionize". Berkeleyside. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  9. ^ Brady, Erin (2021-11-09). "After 'Rude Awakening' in Last Year, Bookstore Workers Across U.S. Unionize". Newsweek. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  10. ^ Green, Alex (March 11, 2021). "Moe's Booksellers Unionize". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  11. ^ Kelly, Kim (2022-04-29). "Why the Book Industry Sucks for Workers". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  12. ^ Dowd, Katie (March 10, 2021). "Citing 'many incidents' of 'poor safety,' Berkeley institution Moe's Books unionizes". SFGate.
  13. ^ McGiurl, Kalie (May 31, 2022). "Building the Union at Moe's Books". Verso. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  14. ^ "Our Favorite Independent Bookstores in California". AFAR Media. 2020-10-15. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  15. ^ Adiele, Faith; Blough, Jessica; Bruno, Lee; Ciabattari, Jane; Firth, Andrea A.; Ghasemiyeh, Nasim; Gonzales, Michelle Cruz; Padmanabhan, Jaya (2022-06-27). "32 Bay Area Bookstores We Love". Alta Online. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  16. ^ Herendeen, Lisa (2021-11-18). "19 fantastic Bay Area bookstores for bibliophiles to explore". East Bay Times. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  17. ^ McManis, Sam (November 22, 2023). "A trip to the Bay Area's 'Great Eight' independent bookstores". The Sacramento Bee.
  18. ^ Medina, Sarah; Luke, Mikaela; Medina, Eric (April 29, 2022). "20 Independent Bay Area Bookstores - 7x7 Bay Area". www.7x7.com. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  19. ^ "Best Used Bookstores In The Bay Area". www.cbsnews.com. 2015-04-06. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  20. ^ Medina, Sarah; Luke, Mikaela (August 25, 2020). "The East Bay's Best Independent Bookstores - 7x7 Bay Area". www.7x7.com. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
  21. ^ Romeyn, Kathryn (2017-11-07). "The 'Graduate' Guide to Berkeley". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-11-03.
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