A view of the shop from the street.
A sign with instructions for paying for books after hours.

Bart's Books in Ojai, California is a bookstore founded by Richard Bartindale in 1964. It is mostly an outdoor bookstore, and some books are available for sale at all hours.[1] Shelves of books face the street, and patrons are asked to drop coins into the door's coin box to pay for any books they take whenever the store is closed.[2]

Bart's has been featured in documentaries, television news programs, newspaper and magazine articles,[3][4] novels,[5] and Hollywood movies.[6] One television documentary had a hidden camera in a van parked across the street to study the honesty of people: how many people actually put money in the coinbox after hours to pay for books they took when no one was around. The store was also featured in Easy A, a 2010 American teen comedy movie.[6]

References

  1. Courtney, Sara (2022-08-18). "The 'World's Largest Outdoor Bookstore' Is In Ojai, California". TheTravel. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
  2. HILLINGER, CHARLES (1990-12-16). "The Honor System Works All Night Long at Bart's Books : Ojai: Real estate agents cite the store as an example of the city's small-town style. They say it helps sell houses". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2017-11-23.
  3. "12 Of The Most Beautiful Bookstores In The United States". Bustle. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
  4. SFGATE, Julie Tremaine (2021-08-30). "This Central California bookstore is unlike anything you've ever seen". SFGATE. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
  5. Hyndman, Carl (2022-08-11). "Bart's Books is center stage in mystery-thriller novel". Ojai Valley News.
  6. 1 2 "Easy A (2010) Filming and Production". IMDB.

34°26′55″N 119°14′59″W / 34.4486°N 119.2497°W / 34.4486; -119.2497


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