Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday but every day is a good day to support community. My favorite bookstore and community space is LibroMobile in Santa Ana, California.
Six years ago, LibroMobile started as a mobile book cart that founder Sarah Rafael Garcia peddled through the streets of Santa Ana, California. Garcia eventually parked her bike and set up books on a public stairway. She moved the books to a garage in a downtown Santa Ana alley 11 months later.
Last year, through community-based partnerships and collaborations (along with Garcia’s indominable creative spirit and irrepressible energy) LibroMobile opened a beautiful store on Bristol Street. They offer books in Spanish and English, host free readings and workshops, and promote literacy and the arts. It’s a welcoming place with comfortable chairs where anyone can sit and read as well as the most beautiful bathroom I’ve ever seen in a bookstore.
Garcia coordinates LibroMobile, Crear Studio and a hybrid Barrio Writers program for young people. The next goal is to combine these entities into one, creating a museum and cultural center for-and-by the BIPOC community in Orange County. Tax-deductible donations of any amount are gratefully accepted on Giving Tuesday or any other day. Thank you!!!
