Denver gas station trades fuel for free books
BookGive distributes 10,000 books monthly from a 1940s station in north Denver, with no return policy required.
By Amina Howard ·
Visitors to the former gas station at 49th Avenue and Lowell Boulevard in north Denver are currently receiving a different commodity than gasoline. The site, which features a canopy and price signage from the 1940s, now operates as BookGive. Patrons walk into a small, windowed room filled with shelves of books and are told to take as many as they want. There is no due date and no need to return the items.
Kristi Wimbish, the executive director of BookGive, notes that this instruction often confuses first-time visitors. "A lot of times people say, 'They're really free? When are they due back?'" she said. "We're not a library. We encourage people to take these books and give them new life and add them to their own bookshelves for their own education."
The nonprofit was founded in 2019 by Nicole Sullivan, the former owner of the Tennyson Street Shop BookBar. Its mission is to provide free books to residents throughout the metro Denver area. Most of the inventory arrives through private donations. Wimbish stated that the organization receives approximately 15,000 books every month. It then distributes about 10,000 of those books monthly to more than 90 partner organizations. These partners include local addiction treatment centers, jails, food banks, and schools.
BookGive also maintains a free book room and operates an all-electric bookmobile named Electra. The vehicle travels around the region to distribute additional free books. Wimbish explained the organization's philosophy: "We feel strongly (that) literacy creates community and any opportunity we can take to share books across the Denver metro region is important to us."
The physical location is open from 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. Donors can drop off books during these business hours or place them in large bins located in the front parking lot after hours. Wimbish said the organization is always seeking books in Spanish and other languages. High demand also exists for middle-grade titles, books for high school readers, and current fiction and nonfiction. The staff tries to select books that are new or nearly new to encourage pride in ownership.
On Wednesday, visitors wandered into the shop with varying levels of hesitation about the rules. Some asked if there was a catch or if they needed to donate books to take some. Wimbish confirmed there was no catch, just free books for the community. Volunteers in the back room sorted donations and packed boxes for the Denver County Jail and other nonprofits.
Raaim Farooqui, 25, drove from Centennial to the shop after seeing it on Instagram. He left with a stack of books he intended to read quickly. "I feel like attention span is something we're trying to protect nowadays, especially with social media," Farooqui said. "I want to read more. I just want to protect my mind."
Blake Eatherton, who lives down the block, entered the shop with his dog, Shelly. Wimbish greeted the dog with pets and declared Shelly her favorite neighborhood dog. Wimbish had set aside a copy of Stephen King's "The Bachman Books" for Eatherton. "It's awesome here," Eatherton said. "I love it. I think books are super important. Literacy is very important. The more books we can get to more people, the better."
