A Time for Action

I wanted to thank you for all our support. This petition has shown that Wellsboro wants a bookstore, and that we just aren't Wellsboro's bookstore. People visit the world over. People often visit when they are back visiting family. It's not usual to hear a foreign language spoken. Just this year we had visitors from France, England, Ontario, Denmark and New Zealand.

This Christmas season, we had a visitor from Buffalo, and he commented that he wished there were such a store in Buffalo, New York, a much bigger place than Wellsboro Pennsylvania. It's not easy running a bookstore in this day and age, but we've always paid our rent and on time. The landlord doesn't want to renew our rent because of problems with our co-tenants, but we never broke the lease.

We offered our co-tenants and our landlord is simply lazy and doesn't want to deal, but having a bookstore is good for Wellsboro and Main St, including the property our landlord owns. Having a bookstore in town makes the building we are in, and all of his property on Main St. worth more.

Now is the time for action. Having a bookstore is good for Wellsboro and even this landlord. He simply isn't a good enough businessman to see it. What we want to do now is go to mediation and work this out. It's for everyone's good.

You signed the petition, but now I'm asking you to write the landlord, write your local representative, write the Tioga County Commissioners. These people talk about job creation. They talk about community. Well, From My Shelf Books is a part of the community and a viable business. Why destroy that. It's already here. Let's keep it here.

Wellsboro is a small town and there's no where to go. Though we started the bookstore to create a bookstore in the community we grew up in, it became more, and our business model needs visitors and walk ins. We need you.

Kevin Coolidge, owner From My Shelf Books