Printed Word Worshipped at Sheafe Street Books

Ken Kozick, owner of Sheafe Street Books since August 2010, knows books after spending several years working as a sales rep for book distributors and publishing companies and running a book store at the Fox Run Mall in Newington back in the 1980s.

He also loves books, which is why he decided to turn the first level of his Sheafe Street home into a cozy, inviting independent book store where his customers can take their time and peruse the hundreds of books on the store's custom made shelves.

At a time when more and more independent book stores are disappearing because of the surge in digital publishing, iPads, Nooks and Kindles, Kozick believes he has a great location to go with his comprehensive collections that include Beat Generation writers such as Allen Ginsburg, Jack Kerouac and Charles Bukowski to entice book lovers.

Compared to the hustle and bustle that is the norm for larger book store chains like Barnes and Noble and Borders Books, independent book stores such as Sheafe Street Books offer people the chance to rediscover their love and appreciation for the printed word. Sheafe Street Books was also recently recognized as the 2012 Editors' Choice winner in Yankee Magazine's Travel Guide to New England.

In this week's Port City Business, Portsmouth Patch talks with Ken Kozick about Sheafe Street Books.

Name: Sheafe Street Books

Business on the Web: On Facebook

Tel.: 603-498-4696

Business owner: Ken Kozick

Address: 29 Sheafe St.

Founded: 2010

Number of employees: One

Business hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Payments accepted: Master Card, VISA, Discover, American Express, cash, and checks.

What separates this business from others:  We have an emphasis on selling more used, collectible books. The building was built in 1890 and it has high ceilings. The book cases were custom made and there are several chairs where people can sit and read a book before they buy it. It’s a book store for book people. Some people immediately love this store because of the way it is and they enjoy spending time here. In some ways, this store is like a museum of book selling where we sell books the way it used to be. I am also a member of the New Hampshire Antiquarian Bookseller Association. I’ve been in the book business my whole life. I ran a book store at the Fox Run Mall in the 1980s and I worked as a sales rep for several book distributing companies and a few publishing companies. I know books.

What do you like about doing business in Portsmouth: The people who visit come from all over. I get people from all over the world who come in here and they seem to want to find the used book store as a destination when they come here. There is just something special about book people where they have a courtesy that is just not that common with other types of consumers. Everybody who has ever written a book here in Portsmouth has come in here and given the store their blessing. I also get a lot of the UNH Master of Fine Arts students who come in here.

How do you give back to the community: I give gift certificates to different groups who hold fundraisers. But I think that by existing I am giving back to the community. It is an interesting place for people to come to and hang out and getting books into the right hands is what it’s all about.

Future goals: I would like to get a bigger space somewhere, something twice as big as this, somewhere downtown if possible. My goal is to make enough to make a profit.