Christian Bookshops in York
Although York has more than its fair share of bookshops in general there are only two recognised Christan bookshops SPCK (Society for the Promoting of Christian Knowledge) and the Barbican. The two are very different to each other and offer different things which in fact complement each other quite well.
SPCK is the older of the two, the Society nationally was set up in 1698 under the brain child of Thomas Bray to “promote religon in the plantations abroad and to propagate Christian knowledge at home.” The Society has had a branch in York for so long that nobody knows the actual date. Recently however it has changed its location from Stonegate to Goodramgate, (that’s near the Minster for those Freshers who still haven’t worked out where anything is in York) and so the actual shop is very modern and spacious.
The Barbican does not have such a long history as SPCK but it has still been around for a long time (especially in York). The first books were actually sold in 1947 by a Mr. Dick Robinson in a private house at Fulford (near the university) and at that time it was one of very few bookshops specifically for Christian literature in the whole of the Yorkshire area; from Leeds and Sheffield to Scarborough and Middlesborough. It became so popular that it had to change location and moved to the room above the Barbican above Walmgate bar and from where it got the name of the Barbican bookshop. It moved to its present location in 1967 and so is a very old style looking shop.
Enough about the history and on to the present day scene about the bookshops. As I was saying, SPCK have only recently moved and so the shop is very modern looking and everything is very easy to find, the W.H. Smith’s of the Christian bookshop world. If you know exactly what you are looking for and want (or in the case of many students, need) to find the book very quickly then this system is probably the best. However, SPCK do point out that they are not simply a supermarket bookshop.
The Barbican on the other hand is much different, the shop is much more compact because of a simple lack of space and so access for those with pushchairs, prams or wheelchairs is limited. Also it is not advisable to take large bags in case you happen to knock over one of the many stands, also the management ask that anybody with a bag of any considerable size should leave it behind the counter, for obvious security reasons. For any new book there is a special stand devoted simply to new books and thus it is very easy to find these books. Other books are not so well ordered and can be less easy to find, but the staff are very friendly and willing to help if you are having problems in finding any particular book.
What do the two bookshops offer to the student? It really does depend upon the student! The Barbican probably offers the bigger range if only because it has more shelf space to accomodate more books. SPCK as one could imagine is almost solely a Christian bookshop although it does sell some non-Christian books and some of the marginal material (C.S. Lewis?) and in fact has quite a range of little things and gifty type things for both the Christian and the non-Christian, including:
- Christian cards for all occasions (baptism, confirmation, Christmas etc.)
- Up-market cards for all occasions (birthdays etc.)
- Small cards (prayer cards,verse cards)
- Statues (small ones of course)
- Cassettes
- Posters
The books it aims to sell are general theology, popular Christian paperbacks and discussion group material.
The Barbican on the other hand has a much wider range of books from accountancy to zoology which are probably on offer if you are perpared to look for them. The number of actual Christian books is about the same as SPCK probably slightly lower if anything, in a similar style to SPCK in the main part of the shop. The Barbican is however much more than simply a Christian bookshop. There have been many extensions since the site was first aquired and a very large number of second-hand books are available, which are much cheaper than new books, but in a very good quality. If nothing else the Barbican is worth looking intoif only to see if any of the course books are for sale. The second-hand collection is of popular Christian paperbacks, theological books, general factual (no new factual material is sold because the same company owns Pickerings, a secular bookshop also in York) and light-hearted fiction books. The collection of second-hand books is said to be the largest in the North and some say one of the largest in the whole of the U.K.
The Barbican hopes to attract people by selling:
- General bargain books (books being sold at a much reduced price to when they were first published for a variety of reasons, e.g. over production.)
- Second hand books
- York and the North Yorkshire area local literature, maps, history (one for the parents there.)
- L’Appelle badges and broaches
- Miscellaneous crafts and gifts
- Christian magazines (21CC, Today, etc.)
- Filofaxes (the original stockist in the York area before they became the Yuppies’ companion.)
- Cassettes
- Posters
There are some books that neither of the two bookshops will sell, and the policy for both is roughly the same. There are no books on the occult except for the Christian “anti-occult” books, there are no anti-Christian books, sexually offensive or degrading material, any books that may be seen as offensive to other religons and finally any science-fiction books. The main policy being that Christian bookshops should not be offensive to anybody!
Finally, a brief outlook at what the Christian scene holds in the future, and what the Christian bookshops hope to provide. The bookshops believe that part of their business is really a ministry for the Church in general to bring people to the Lord and that the way to do this is by bringing into the shop people who would not normally go into a Christian bookshop. The two stores have their own way of doing this of course, SPCK believe that the way is to make the shop look simple and approachable. Although part of the Anglican Church SPCK is independant and has to pay it’s way even though it is not a private limited company and all the profits are re-invested in the shops.
The Barbican attracts people by selling a wide of non-Christian books in the hope that the non-Christian will pick up a Christian book that he/she would never have done in an exclusively Christian bookshop. Also that they see Christianity in a whole new light. For example, they may never have thought that Christians could have a good laugh at themselves, but find something by Adrian Plass not realising that it is Christian, but become interested after reading the book.
Also there is the Minster bookshop. However, as one might expect this is quite touristy, there is a good selection of Christian literature and also secular material mainly the Classics. If you are prepared to wade through the tourists you might well find something of interest, especially material about the actual Minster itself, which of course you would be unable (or at least find difficult) to obtain anywhere else.
The sitution in York is far from perfect in the sense of the low number of Christian bookshops compared to the total number of bookshops. However, the situation could be much worse. As it is the main bookshops that we do have complement each other very well and have a bright future to look forward to. We wish them every success in the particular work that has been set for them and hope that they may continue to to make as good a job of it in the future as in the past.
Do not forget that you can always pick up a copy of Christis in the SPCK and the Barbican bookshops in York — so you are guaranteed to find something good wherever you decide to do your “Christian shopping.”