39°56′31″N75°09′15″W / 39.942059°N 75.154114°W /39.942059; -75.154114
 Sign hanging above Wooden Shoe Books (2006) | |
| Industry | Book store |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1976; 49 years ago (1976) |
| Headquarters | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Website | www |
Wooden Shoe Books and Records, also known asThe Wooden Shoe, is ananarchist bookstore andinfoshop in Philadelphia. Founded in 1976, the store specializes in radical and non-traditional literature. Wooden Shoe is run by an all-volunteerworker collective that encourages community building andanti-capitalist activism.
Located on 704 South Street in theSouth Street district, Wooden Shoe Books is in its third location.[1] The Wooden Shoe has always been primarily political, created with the intention of consolidating published anarchist materials into one location and providing opportunities for community organizing.[2] The shop volunteers its space to local organizations that align with its political goals of challenging systems of oppression.[3] Events include poetry readings, educational discussions, workshops, author talks, and rock shows.[3] The space also features a community board advertising local events such as book clubs and musical performances.[4]
The Wooden Shoe has been described as a "punk-rabbit-hole-on-acid of a shop."[3] Book categories include Native/Indigenous American Studies, Palestine,situationism, feminism, labor studies, imperialism, theprison–industrial complex, sustainable living, disabilities studies, and anarchism.[3] The collection includes books from anarchist publishers such asAutonomedia,AK Press, andSemiotext(e).[3] In addition to books, the store carrieszines, vinyl records, buttons, stickers, posters, and t-shirts.[4]
The name of Wooden Shoe Books derives from workers who interrupted production during theIndustrial Revolution by throwing wooden shoes (sabots) into machinery.[1] The bookstore opened in January 1976 and was founded by members of Philadelphia Solidarity, a group oflibertarian socialists.[5] In a 2021 interview, one of the founders describes that the collective did not anticipate making much of a "profit with just the books, so we also sold vinyl records."[5]
The original location of the shop was in a basement at 20th and Sansom Streets.[5] An electrical fire in 1997 burned the building down, and the store moved to 5th and South Street.[5] Looking for a larger space, in October 2009 the Wooden Shoe moved into its current location at 7th and South Street.[6]
The Wooden Shoe is a run by an all-volunteer, non-hierarchical collective.[7] Decisions are made by collective members by aconsensus process at monthly meetings.[7] The bookstore is a501(c)(3) organization with a mission of being "an empowering resource for activism, organizing, art, self-education, community-building, and the anti-capitalist struggle."[3] As of 2022, the collective has around thirty-five people to staff the store.[8]
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