As any booklover will tell you, independent bookshops strive to be at the foundation of our communities. And within the category of indie bookshops there’s another very special category: those that are non-profit and collectively-owned.

Sales from our bookshop and website help to fund the provision of pioneering programmes supporting literacy, community well-being and access to cultural opportunities for all; it’s a win-win – ‘buy books, grow community’.

Crediton Bookshop became community owned in 2013 when more than 300 shareholders came together to create a social enterprise to maintain an independent bookshop in the town and to pioneer programmes supporting literacy, community well-being and access to cultural opportunities.

Over the last seven years the organisation has gone from strength to strength. We have developed a range of community outreach projects, including a successful schools’ programme. We work with people from a diverse range of ages, backgrounds and abilities. And we have developed a thriving high street shop and a successful online store.

The wider context

Like many third sector organisations, as we have responded to the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic on the communities we serve, we have reviewed our governance and structures and taken advice about how best to future-proof the organisation to be able to continue our work in a changing world.

Crediton Community Bookshop is rebranding to The Bookery.

We’d like to share bit more about what this means and why, what’s changing and what’s not.

After gathering ideas and feedback from customers, shareholders, stakeholders and supporters, the decision was made to make three changes – a new name, logo and colour palette. The Bookery was chosen to keep books at the heart of our identity, and the new look designed to clearly represent the values and purpose of the organisation, and help us to incorporate all strands of our work.

We will continue to develop our services to schools, pioneer wellbeing projects in the communities we serve and work hard to continue to improve the experience of our bookshop customers. The refurbished building behind the bookshop will become a hub for shared workspaces and creative activities. And working in partnership with other organisations we aim to support access to books and writing opportunities for all.

Our mission and values remain the same ~ click here for details.

We are indebted to the brilliant author/illustrator Sarah McIntyre who designed our new lettering and artwork, and thank you to everyone involved – especially our customers, supporters and patrons – we have been blown away by your encouragement.

Thank you for being part of our story…