There’s a new bookstore, community space in Bellefonte. What it’s like and what’s next

After a longer than anticipated series of renovations, a nonprofit bookstore and community space is ready to officially open in the heart of downtown Bellefonte.

The Print Factory, which describes itself as an “antiracist, feminist, and queer-inclusive organization that supports the artistic and intellectual life of the local community,” will hold its soft opening Friday at 130 S. Allegheny St., marking the end of a long journey of preparations for directors John Eburne, Mandisa Haarhoff and Kathy Mitchell.

Having secured the space on a five-year lease in April 2023, then-director Melissa Stitzer anticipated it to open before Small Business Saturday last November following renovations, but things didn’t quite go as planned.

“We ended up having to gut nearly the entire place,” Eburne said. “After taking a look around with the landlord, we determined there was a lot more that needed to be done than we anticipated, and the more that we fixed, the more we found that needed fixing. So, instead of rushing things for an earlier opening and potentially missing a crucial renovation, we took our time and made sure that everything was done properly.”

With the renovations now complete, those who walk into the Print Factory are greeted by vibrant lighting, a fresh, white coat of paint on the walls and ceiling, linoleum wood flooring, new and used books of all different genres and several bookshelves, tables and chairs. Almost all of the furniture was bought by Mitchell at thrift stores or other second-hand options.

That ended up being an important part of cost-saving efforts in the build-up to the opening, with the directors only having donations garnered through a GoFundMe campaign and a small amount of business start-up grant money to work with.

“Facebook Marketplace is a lifesaver,” Mitchell said. “Along with some of the thrift stores in the area, that’s where I ended up getting the majority of the furniture and shelving in here, and I have to say, it saved us a ton of money. Why go out and buy new whenever we can reuse and repurpose perfectly good things from the past?”

Now, nearly a year after the originally-planned opening date, the Print Factory’s directors are eager to welcome customers of all backgrounds to the space.

One of the most important goals for the Print Factory’s directors is to create — and provide to the community — a space that is inclusive to anyone who steps through the front door. That’s been crucial since day one.

“We want people to feel welcome here,” Haarhoff said. “There are a lot of negative things going on in the world today, and I think that it’s important to provide people with a space like this to safely and comfortably spend their time without fear of being judged for who they are.”

It’s also important to the directors that their nonprofit is not seen strictly as a bookstore, but as a “cultural and community-gathering space that also happens to be a bookstore,” as Eburne said.

One way that the space aims to break that potential preconception is to provide easily-movable furniture and seating areas to customers, so the space may look different each time a customer enters.

“Don’t get me wrong — I love a good bookstore, but usually they’re filled with huge, ceiling-high bookshelves, limited seating and a near-permanent floor plan,” Eburne said. “We don’t want that here. We want the place to be as easy to rearrange as possible for the needs of each event that’s held here, in addition to the needs of each customer that comes in here. If you want to work or read by yourself, so be it, but if you’d like to do more group-oriented work, that’s perfectly fine too.”

The space will host a growing number of free events and activities each week, aimed to reach and educate people, regardless of their interests.

Some of these events include, but aren’t limited to, open mic nights, movie and documentary showings, informational presentations, writing groups and workshops, live music nights and more. The directors have already gotten a head start on hosting events at the Print Factory, with the most recent event being an open mic from 7-9 p.m. Thursday.

Those attending these events, or just visiting the space, will also be able to enjoy complimentary coffee and teas.

As for the bookstore side of things, the directors hope to carry options for nearly all interests, but that dream hasn’t been fully realized quite yet. The space’s collection of books is still growing, and they’re hoping community members can help.

“We’ve had a pretty good amount of book donations coming in and we’ve been able to fill our shelves with a pretty solid amount of material so far,” Eburne said. “We’re still taking book donations of all genres, however, in the future we’re going to be curating a list of books and genres that we have yet to stock on our shelves. As customers start to come in and ask for various genres or books, we want to make sure that we’re able to provide them with what they’d like to read.”

Monetary donations are being accepted as well, with directors saying donations remain critical to operations, just as they were in getting the space up and running.

While the books at the Print Factory are only available for purchase right now, a book-lending program is also in the works for the future. Local authors and artists will also have a special display in the store.

The Print Factory’s opening day is scheduled from noon to 8 p.m. Friday, and moving forward, the space will maintain those same hours, Thursday through Sunday. In the future, business hours could expand, dependent on how many people volunteer to work at the space.

More information about the Print Factory can be found at printfactorybellefonte.org or by visiting the space’s Facebook and Instagram pages.