Nestled in the heart of Main Street, Brockport, the Lift Bridge Book Shop is a favorite destination for the community’s book-loving residents. Owners, Sarah and John, have been at the helm since 2015 and pride themselves on providing diversity in their selection of products. Customers will always find something of interest. John worked in the store while in college. He grew to love the store’s main fare but took special interest in the children’s selection.
Entry to the store generally draws a warm welcome from the front counter. A scattering of individual displays offers the casual browser topics of current interest. Nearby, their display of books and materials of local interest says, “Welcome to Brockport.” Plackards on or above various shelving units guide the shopper to favorite topics.
Browsing through aisles surrounded by adult books recently, I soon found myself in the midst of juvenile paraphernalia. I kept going to see what I might see. Always interested in aviation books, I found the book, At the Airport by Max Walther, and picked it up for a closer look. Hard covered, this sixteen page board book is jammed with colorful pictures that depict all known activities of a commercial airport, and then some. As I flipped through the pages I was reminded of an event in my own early years that, no doubt, drew me into a lifetime career in aviation.
My father was visiting a local architect/teacher/scout master who had built an impressive log cabin camp along a rustic country stream in the Southern Tier of New York State. While they talked, I took interest in a coffee table book about transportation. The entire theme was interesting, but I kept going back to the chapter about aviation. The architect/scout master took note of my interest and, when we were about to leave, offered me the book. It was a prize – one that surely led me to my chosen career.
As I looked beyond this Lift Bridge product on their shelf I found similar books about all types of work. Intermixed were activities and games that not only entertained, but also educated (in a friendly, familiar way). The wealth of products and information contained within those walls is a treasure land for young parents, grandparents and early education teachers. John, who leads the decisions about the children’s section, has a passion for delivering books that teach as well as entertain.
For readers who are Westsiders, this store is a “must see.” Not just for the children’s section, but for reading pleasure and related gifts for all ages. For those who reside in Rochester and nearby suburban communities, consider adding a trip to Brockport to your to do list. The creativity of this couple shows up in their displays and on their shelves. It surely is the reason they were able to survive during the lean years of the pandemic. About to celebrate a store birthday as the pandemic began, they inserted a letter into each customer’s bag when they made a sale. Someone noted this on Social Media and the post went viral. Brockport’s loyal citizens called for gift certificates, ordered books for shut-in relatives (to be delivered in person by the store) and generally kept their hometown shop in business. That same creativity is demonstrated again and again in the new and used books they offer, the related giftware they keep in stock and their focus on providing a diverse selection of products. When asked, Sarah relayed that, in their store, it is their goal to ensure that customers will “find something they didn’t expect.”
For children’s materials, for your own pleasure, for gift giving and for plain old relaxation and entertainment, make Brockport and the Lift Bridge Book Shop a destination. You might be surprised, but surely not disappointed.
Rick Iekel
Greece
