Half Price Books

From http://www.halfpricebooks.com/our_story.html

OUR STORY In 1972, we opened our first store in a converted laundromat in Dallas, Texas. Co-founders Ken Gjemre and Pat Anderson stocked the store with more than 2,000 books from their personal libraries. Half Price Books was created with the idea of offering a great product at a great price. And it worked! Today, Half Price Books is America’s favorite new and used bookstore chain. Our simple philosophy continues under the leadership of Sharon Anderson Wright, daughter of Pat Anderson.

Today Half Price Books has 85 retail stores in 14 states, with each store carrying a unique variety of new and used books, music, movies and games. The company continues to grow having opened new stores in Missouri, Ohio, Kentucky and Texas within the past year. In 2005, Half Price Books expanded its stores to the Chicago area, opening in the Village of Niles. HPB will open two new Chicagoland stores November 2006.

We buy and sell anything printed or recorded except yesterday’s newspaper. Preserving and recycling resources and entertainment of every form is our business. Through the years we’ve recycled more than 16 million books, saving more than 650,000 trees.

Whether it’s new or used, a best seller, or an old classic, you’ll find the most incredible and unique assortment of books. Best of all, almost everything is half the publisher’s price or less. And since our stock changes daily, you’ll find something new every time you shop. Don’t forget music and movies. There’s an exciting and unpredictable world of sights and sounds to be discovered in our enormous collection of CDs, cassettes, LPs, videos and DVDs most at half price or less. We buy books that you’ve already enjoyed. So if you have more books than shelves, bring your books to Half Price Books, where we’ll give you cash for your stuff.

Half Price Books is also committed to the community. To help teachers and librarians stretch their dollar even further, we offer a 10% Discount Card, good at all Half Price Books locations. We’ve been supporting literacy for more than 30 years by working with local literacy groups across the country. Half Price Books strives to help provide people of all ages with the tools and skills necessary to become readers. And through the Half Pint Library program, thousands of books are collected and donated to hospitals each year. Writers have the opportunity to enter an original story in our annual Bedtime Storybook Contest. Proceeds from their published works, the Say Good Night to Illiteracy collection, go to family literacy projects.

And for booklovers, tree huggers, and collectors alike, Half Price Books is a great place to work. Find out about employment opportunities and how you can join this fun, fast-paced retail environment.