Independent third places are crucial to communities

On any given week in Ithaca, you can wander into a poetry reading at Buffalo Street Books, browse titles at Autumn Leaves Books, meet a local author at Odyssey Bookstore or walk through the aisles of the Tompkins County Public Library. These spaces are more than just places to buy books; they are integral spaces to the Ithaca community.

Independent bookstores — like Buffalo Street Books, Autumn Leaves Books and Odyssey Bookstore — are places of inclusion, comfort and community. They make up some of Ithaca’s third places: a dying breed in many parts of our country. 

Third places are places outside of work or home that provide an opportunity to socialize with like-minded people without the expectation of purchase. In this casual social environment, members of the community can come together, creating a mutual meeting ground to build relationships with fellow community members.

All three bookstores support connection in not only the community, but within families as well. At any time, you can find families with their kids listening to story hour, college students from both hills browsing listings or community members wandering the aisles.

The loss of these free third places reveals our culture’s emphasis on individualism and profit. Diminishing third places prompts isolation, causing the development of individualistic rather than community-focused mindsets. 

Profit has been continuously valued over human connection in American culture; the lack of third places sends a message to increase time at work because there is no other option. This continues promoting productivity and labor over leisure time with friends and community members.

In independent third places like Buffalo Street Books, Autumn Leaves Books or Odyssey Bookstore, connection and community are valued over profit. Sure, you can get the same book from Barnes and Noble as any of these independent book stores, but you won’t find the same type of community. 

Between drag story hours, local author talks and hosting book clubs, these independent bookstores are staples to the Ithaca community and the people who live there. Buffalo Street Books is even a co-op, with hundreds of community members pitching in as owners to save the bookstore in 2011.

Without third places like these, the Ithaca community would not be the same. It is more important now than ever to support third places like these independent bookstores.