solidaridad book shop

Solidaridad Book Shop is a small but clean and well-lit bookshop located on Padre Faura Street in the Ermita area of Manila. It was founded and still owned by award-winning Filipino author F. (Francisco) Sionil Jose and his wife, Teresita. It is located on the ground floor of an old wooden house, in which Mrs. Jose was born and grew up. (I believe they told me that is the only remaining wooden house on the block.)

Here is a picture of the outside of the shop. That is Mr. and Mrs. Jose. (This was taken after we had lunch. I will blog about this in a different entry).

A couple of my colleagues from other universities had mentioned Solidaridad to me before so I made sure to make an appointment so that I could learn about the shop and what it can do for the library. When I arrived on Saturday, September 19, I was ushered to the second floor (or maybe more of a mezannine area), where the offices are. There, I met Cesar, who I believe manages the store along with the Joses, and waited for Mrs. Jose. She then took me to the third floor (or I think that's actually the second floor), which is a wide open space with a big table. She told me that this was and continues to be a meeting place for Filipino intellectuals and writers.

Mrs. Jose and I discussed the kinds of materials that the book shop acquires and the kinds of arrangements they do with American libraries. In addition to Mr. Jose's own works, the shop acquires many materials from small publishers and self-published authors. From what I can tell, about half of the shop's inventory is on Filipino history and culture; the rest is on Southeast Asia and other parts of the world. (Mr. Jose later informed me that all materials actually pass through his hands and that he decides what can go in his shop.)

Here are some shots of the book shop. The section on the left has the Filipiniana materials. As you can see, I had to do some searching on titles here, too. And I had to sit, squat, and hunch over in turns. Again, it was a little hard on the body--I never even thought of this problem before I made this trip. Another lesson learned!

Having seen what other bookstores offer, I am impressed by Solidaridad. This is certainly a good place to acquire Filipino works, particularly those unlikely to be sold at chain stores. (Even if works are sold at chain stores, it is probably better to get them here anyway as they do not take out as much percentage from the authors.)