Buffalo Street Books

I can’t remember the last time I did in-​person business with a locally-​owned bookstore in the US.
I called about two items: one they had in stock, and the other they were happily willing to order per their easy-​to-​understand policy that was explained over the phone.
As the staffer was talking price, I was on [rhymes with Babylon] comparing the numbers on the book I want thinking, «finally, I can start doing some face-​to-​face book shopping like I used to do back home!»
I haven’t gone in yet, but I don’t feel like I’m going to get duped, so voici (!), my positive Unilocal review for Buffalo Street Books.

Always helpful & friendly staff, will special order books quickly. Prices are slightly higher than B&N or Amazon, but the customer experience is typically better. Nice kids area.
Located right next door to Green Star. Coffee + Book = Win!

Had a stack of books in my arms ready to purchase when I overhead the cashier helping a young man (teenager). He asked if they had a copy of ‘The Art of War’ and the cashier looked at him and said that he might have trouble understanding it. WTF! The man sounded a little defeated but asked her again for a copy and she resisted, saying that the Eastern religion concepts might be difficult for him to grasp. Congratulations, it must be Opposite Day because you are doing the opposite of what a bookstore cashier should be doing (encouraging people to read, selling books, anyone?). I was disgusted at this point and just left the books on the counter as I walked out. I LOVE supporting local businesses but this experience reminded me why I buy all my books on Amazon.

Buffalo Street Books comes off more cute than sophisticated, and I guess that’s to be expected for the sole general-​subject independent bookstore in town at a time when the book-​selling trade is too dire straits to alienate potential readers. But this is a university town with several other institutions of higher learning and many accomplished novelists, so it’s a bit unfortunate that there’s not more of an academic or intellectual bookstore here like Book Culture in NYC, the Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, or the Seminary Co-​op in Chicago, let alone one less tied to university life, like Manhattan’s McNally Jackson. Buffalo Street comes closest in look and feel to Brooklyn bookstores like BookCourt or Greenlight, but is still a bit of a step down from them when it comes to sophistication and selection.
That’s to be a bit expected owing to the history of the store, which was rescued by a community bailout and is now a collectively-​owned enterprise that has to be all things to all people. It also may be reflective of the relative paucity of intellectuals who work outside the colleges in town, or the marginalization of the humanities at Cornell. Whatever the cause, the store comes off a bit middlebrow, which is a shame when the only alternatives are used bookstores, a Barnes & Noble (which has exactly the same problem stock-​wise), and the Cornell Store, with its mere few shelves of books surrounded by an indoor acre of branded merchandise. You’re more likely to find the latest young adult novel craze here than the collected works of Robert Musil.
It is a comfy, cozy place to sit and browse the books that are available, though, and, because of the lack of competition, one of the few games in town for readings and signings, many of which attract the surprising amount of local talent. It’s been steadily improving since it first opened and half the shelves were empty; maybe, free from the burden of posting excessive profits, it will slowly acquire the stock to make it a truly great bookstore worthy of the intellectual heights Ithaca is capable of reaching… over time.
NB: Contrary to the address listed here, while the store does connect to the mall, its main entrance is actually on Buffalo Street, as its name would suggest, between Cayuga and Tioga Streets, and next to GreenStar Oasis.

Love indie books stores! This one is no exception. Cute little warren-​like layout, interesting selection. The bf couldn’t decide and bought four books. He turned to me as we walked out and said, «I don’t think these will all fit in my rollaboard.» Who cares? They’re books and we love ‘em!
Must see, must buy!

This is a new incarnation of what used to be called «Bookery II» — it’s been reborn as a cooperative store, with local folks kicking in memberships to be «owners.» A great idea, and I’m glad it seems to be working out.
While they don’t have quite as extensive a stock as the Bookery II used to, they still have a great selection in a wide variety of areas. We’re lucky people are working to keep this valuable local resource alive in the Age of Amazon.

I want to say 3 stars, but I like this place better than some of the bookstores that I have given three… Bufffalo Street Books does not seem to be strongest in any one book category. Instead it’s just a good overall bookstore. It’s L– shaped, and maybe small medium rather than small sized. The are raedings on fairly regular basis. They have a small selection of cd’s inclduing a set of Bill Evans/​Eddie Gomez duets that I will eventually get. …

Buffalo Street Books is a small local bookstore conveniently located in the DeWitt Mall in downtown Ithaca, just to the left of GreenStar Oasis. It used to be the Bookery II.
It’s my go-​to bookstore in Ithaca because it’s a small, locally owned company with a strong social justice/​analysis sort of focus. Some of my more enlightened teachers have their books ordered there instead of the Cornell Store — less convenient, but they offer a student discount, and the books ordered by professors are tax-​free.
They sell children’s books, cookbooks, maps, travel guides, local items, CDs, literary journals and periodicals, and awesome social justice and community-​building posters (e.g. Ricardo Levins-​Morales).
They have pretty frequent readings with local and national authors, which are often really good, and also seem pretty open to hosting other kinds of events or gatherings (e.g. an Ithaca FreeSkool Norse Mythology class), which is great.
Every time I go, I learn something new and find something cool. So glad to have a good local bookstore to support. Loves it.