Nestled in Middlebury’s Marble Works District, Otter Creek Used Books prioritizes the old-fashioned, brick-and-mortar shopping experience.
The bookstore receives book donations from all over Vermont, with donors driving from as far away as Burlington to drop books off in Middlebury. After each donation, store owner Barbara Harding checks each book for damage, cleans the covers and finds a space on the shelves. The bookstore’s categories are constantly changing.
“It kind of just evolves,” Harding said. “When we set it up, when we moved in here, it all just fell into place where it should be. There are some sections that kind of come and go.”
Harding, a lifelong Middlebury resident, is the fourth owner of the bookstore. Formerly a travel and marketing director at the Addison County Chamber of Commerce, Harding has always loved shopping at used bookstores. She was visiting Otter Creek Used Books in 2006 when she noticed a “for sale” sign outside the door.
“I went down the stairs and I asked [the owner] how much he was selling it for. I went back to my desk, and I called my husband and said, ‘We’re buying a used bookstore,’” Harding recalled. “When I first bought the store, my husband and daughter were with me, and we got the key and they were like, ‘These are our books!’” Harding said.
A year later, she left her job at the Chamber of Commerce to run the bookstore full time. Harding relies on her intuition to run the bookstore with no prior experience.
“It’s just listening to myself and trusting and knowing what I like, but then trying to expand it to make sure that it’s more inclusive for everyone, not just my interests,” Harding said.
Sofi Gribovski ’27 told The Campus she likes the philosophy section in particular.
“I love the vibe and the smell of old books, and the people that work at the store are so sweet,” she said.
Myrah Valmyr ’27 agreed with her assessment.
“Otter Creek reminds me of how much I love exploring new topics and ideas, which is more or less what college is about,” she said. “I always gravitate towards a different corner stacked with books I wouldn’t come into contact with at any other bookseller.”
In 2011, Harding moved the bookstore from Main Street to its current location in Marble Works due to construction on the town’s train tracks. The Marble Works space was formerly an art gallery, but when Harding was looking for a new location, she found out the gallery owner was not planning on renewing her lease.
“It was like perfect. It just seemed like this is exactly where the bookstore should be,” Harding said.
The bookstore is arranged with a main room of shelves, along with additional themed rooms for children and specific genres. Sometimes, local artists display works in the bookstores that are available for purchase. “I wanted it to be cozy,” Harding said.
Valmyr described her experience of leisurely browsing in Otter Creek Used Books.
“The way the sun comes through the window and the perfectly placed chair right by the religion and philosophy section is enough to keep me in there for longer than I ought to be,” she said.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Harding began posting a few books for sale online every day. Customers quickly took interest, purchasing books and gift certificates, which she left in the front of the store for them to pick up easily. Today, the bookstore maintains a small presence on AbeBooks, an online bookstore, but focuses on the in-person shopping experience.
Besides the necessary adjustments made in 2020, Harding has aimed to establish a unique identity for her bookstore, one that resisted the shift to online sales.
“Everybody sells online,” Harding said. “So I wanted to be like an old fashioned used bookstore, and I used the model of Book Row in New York City. You didn’t know what was in the store unless you walked in.”
Harding also remains closely connected with other used bookstore owners through the Vermont Antiquarian Booksellers Association (VAB), where she currently serves as president. The group allows booksellers to find specific books for their customers and trade with each other.
For Harding, the joy of running Otter Creek Used Books comes from being surrounded by books.
“The best part is just being with the books,” Harding said. “I still get really excited when new books, new to the store, come in and just [seeing] what’s in the box, what’s in the bag.”
