Left Bank Books Collective records, approximately 1973-2015

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Left Bank Books
Title
Left Bank Books Collective records
Dates
approximately 1973-2015 (inclusive)
Quantity
3.82 cubic feet (6 boxes)
Collection Number
6272 (Accession No. 6272-001)
Summary
Business records of a collective-run bookstore, used bookstore, and wholesale distribution and mail order in Seattle
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

No restrictions on access.

Languages
English

Historical NoteReturn to Top

Left Bank Books was founded in 1973 by a group of workers who split off from the University District’s Red and Black Books to form their own collective bookstore in the Pike Place Market. The two projects continued as separate but mutually supportive projects until the mid 1990s, when Red and Black closed. For much of the 1980s and 1990s, the Left Bank Books Collective expanded to include two other projects: AKA Books, a used bookstore in Seattle's University District, as well as a wholesale distribution and mail order project known as Left Bank Distribution. Neither of these projects exists today due to financial problems and rental situations in Seattle.

Left Bank is collectively owned and operated by its workers, and has been since its inception. As an anarchist collective, Left Bank has no bosses or managers. Decisions are made in bi-monthly collective meetings based on a consensus process. Left Bank Books still operates out of a Pike Place Market storefront.

Left Bank Books was founded as a small collective. In the late 1990s, Left Bank Books became registered as a federal corporation so that in the event of financial difficulty at the store, individual employees would not be held financially responsible. Left Bank Books is not federally registered as a non-profit.

Left Bank Distribution, or LBD, was a project started by the Left Bank Books collective in 1980 and ended in 2001. LBD was a book distribution project that provided direct mail-order service of radical book, zines and magazines to individuals and bookstores during the 1980s and 1990s. LBD was a wholesale distributor of radical and alternative books, pamphlets, magazines and zines to independent bookstores, tabling projects, libraries and other organizations, and individuals, mail order catalog. LBD offered one of the largest selections of anarchist & radical books in the world. Corporatization of the bookstore and distribution industry beginning in the late 1990s led to the proliferation of chain bookstores and put many independent bookstores out of business.

Source: https://www.leftbankbooks.com/aboutUs.php#history

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Business records of the Left Banks Books Collective and its projects AKA Books, a used bookstore in Seattle's University District, as well as a wholesale distribution and mail order project known as Left Bank Distribution.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Creator's copyrights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

 

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
1/1 Political Flyers and Articles 1974
1/2 Communism Articles 1976
1/3 Store Communication Logs 1977
1/4 Store Communication Logs and Correspondence 1978
1/5 Store Communication Logs and Correspondence 1979
1/6 Store Communication Logs and Correspondence 1980
1/7 Store Communication Logs and Correspondence (1 of 2) 1981
1/8 Store Communication Logs and Correspondence (2 of 2) 1981
1/9 Store Communication Logs and Correspondence (1 of 2) 1982
1/10 Store Communication Logs and Correspondence (2 of 2) 1982
1/11 Store Communication Logs and Correspondence 1983
1/12 Store Communication Logs and Correspondence 1984
1/13 Monthly Meeting Agendas and Minutes 1985
1/14 Store Communication Logs and Correspondence 1986
1/15 Staff and Volunteer Shift Procedures 1987
1/16 Evergreen State College Lesbian/Gay Resource Center Rally Invitation and Article 1989
1/17 Store Communication Logs and Correspondence 1990
1/18 Store Communication Logs and Correspondence 1991
1/19 Store Correspondence and Event Flyers 1998
1/20 Publishers, Authors, and Other Contact Information (1 of 4)
1/21 Publishers, Authors, and Other Contact Information (2 of 4)
1/22 Publishers, Authors, and Other Contact Information (3 of 4)
1/23 Publishers, Authors, and Other Contact Information (4 of 4)
2/1 Check Registers
2/2 Daily Sales Sheets (1 of 3) 1995
2/3 Daily Sales Sheets (2 of 3) 1995
2/4 Daily Sales Sheets (3 of 3) 1995
2/5 Check Registers
2/6 Daily Sales Sheets 1994
2/7 Tax Form 1065 1992
2/8 Chart of Accounts
2/9 Daily Sales Sheets 1992
2/10 Debt Reports 1995
2/11 Debt Reports 1993
2/12 Debt Reports 1994
2/13 Donations
2/14 Left Bank Distribution (LBD) Savings Account
2/15 Key Bank Merchant Statements 1995
2/16 DEMCO Invoices 1995
2/17 Tax Receipts 1994
2/18 Meeting Minutes
2/19 Check Statements and Checks 1993
2/20 Bank Statements 1992
2/21 Meeting Minutes - AKA Books Liquidation 1995
2/22 Expenses and Sales Records (1 of 2)
2/23 Expenses and Sales Records (2 of 2)
2/24 Check and Cash Receipts Registers
2/25 Bookkeeping and Tax Record (1 of 3) 1980
2/26 Bookkeeping and Tax Record (2 of 3)
2/27 Bookkeeping and Tax Record (3 of 3) 1981
2/28 Lease and Landlord Communication
3/1 Income Forms 1989
3/2 AKA Books Sales Materials
3/3 Bookstore Articles
3/4 Black Eye Press
3/5 Graphics - Incite
3/6 Brooklyn Square Rent Payment Records
3/7 Store Communication (1 of 2)
3/8 Store Communication (2 of 2)
3/9 Tote Bag Designs
3/10 T-Shirt/Hoodie Designs
3/11 Photographs
3/12 Meeting Minutes (1 of 2)
3/13 Meeting Minutes (2 of 2)
3/14 "Historical" Momentos and Book Cards
3/15 Mementos and Communication to Left Bank Books 2005
3/16 Sales and Finances
3/17 Newsletters and Publications 2005
4/1 Store Communication (3 of 3) 2004
4/2 News about World Trade Organization (WTO) Protests and Police Response 1999
4/3 Left Bank Distribution Catalogs
4/4 News About World Trade Organization (WTO) Protest 1999
4/5 George Jackson Brigade Article from Tacoma News Tribune 1977
Box
5 Publishers, Authors, and Other Contact Information
6 Publishers, Authors, and Other Contact Information

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Anarchism--Washington (State)--Seattle--History--Archives
  • Booksellers and bookselling--Washington (State)--Seattle--History--Archives
  • Industrial management--Employee participation--Washington (State)--Seattle--History--Archives
  • Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)

Corporate Names

  • AKA Books (Seattle, Wash.)--History--Archives
  • Left Bank Books Collective--Archives
  • Left Bank Distribution (Seattle, Wash.)--History--Archives