Bob Oldfather's strange and wild ride into the world of books began with a dollar

When Bob Oldfather agreed to purchase his dad’s bookstore in 1976 he thought he’d struck a pretty good deal.

He paid $1.

In the years to come, though, there were days he wondered if he’d been had.

“There were times I thought I’d overpaid by a lot,” he laughed, but like all bookshop owners he learned to be creative.

The little store on North Tucson Boulevard became Bookmans. Today, Bookmans is the largest independent bookseller in Arizona.

Headquartered in Tucson, Bookmans has three outlets here, one in Flagstaff, one in Mesa and one in Phoenix.

“I wish I could tell you I had this grand plan, but I never thought I’d be in the book business,” Oldfather said. “I never hung out in one. I never spent much time at the library. But after I left home, my dad got into the used-book business. Eventually, I started spending time with him at the store. When he decided to move, he asked if I’d like to have it.”

In one key way, the venture would be a startup. Oldfather’s dad, Dave Schlesinger, wanted to keep the name “Livingston’s” for a store he was planning in Sierra Vista.

So the store here became “Bookmans,” and Oldfather began a 45-year journey that continues today.

Oh, what a strange trip it’s been.

When Oldfather opened his doors in 1976, the only way Americans could buy a book was by visiting an independent bookstore. Period. Soon, to borrow a phrase from Mike Campbell, the book business began to change … “gradually and then suddenly.”

First came the large, well-funded mall chains such as B. Dalton and Waldenbooks. Next were the big-box bookstores such as Barnes & Noble and Borders.

Then Amazon.

Then Kindle.

And, most recently, a pandemic that paralyzed the indies for the better part of a year.

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Thousands of American bookstores, including many in Tucson, were forced to close. Not Bookmans. Slowly but steadily, Bookmans continued to grow.

“We suffered through those times like everybody else,” Oldfather said. “But being a used-book store gave us some insulation. And our relationship with our customers might have been different than some stores. Back in 1985, when we moved from Tucson Boulevard to an old Food Giant space at Campbell and Grant, our customers helped us move boxes. We would buy their books and they would buy ours. It became interactive. Our store became their store, too.”

Oldfather advertised aggressively on late-night television, always in the same rakish hat.

Most importantly, Bookmans cashed in on its unique new business model: In addition to offering books, the store had begun buying and selling used musical instruments, records, CDs, DVDs and electronics.

“Brilliant planning,” Oldfather said, tongue in cheek. “Early on, a customer told me he was moving and wanted to sell his record collection. We had extra space so I said, ‘I’ll give you $400.’ That’s how our music department started.”

The entertainment department began with another customer’s collection of used CDs. The electronics department dates back to a day Oldfather was asked if he could fix an Atari video-game system.

“We kinda bumbled our way into them, but our sidelines became pretty important when things got tight,” Oldfather said.

During the recent lockdowns, the sale of puzzles and games may have kept the lights on.

Another characteristic of Bookmans stores: They are large, airy, and open. Two of the three Tucson locations were formerly grocery stores.

And through good times and bad, Bookmans has continued to evolve. Shelves are now peppered with new bestsellers, new games, new DVDs. “People usually come to a store like ours because they aren’t sure what they want,” Oldfather shrugged. “If they decide they want a new book instead of a used one, we should be able to help them.”

Footnotes

Tucson lost a renown children’s author and a beloved bookstore owner. Byrd Baylor, who penned dozens of children’s books, died on June 16 at the age of 98; Tina Bailey, co-owner of The Book Stop bookshop on North Fourth Avenue, died on June 19.

The 2022 Tucson Festival of Books has begun drawing up plans for a full-size, in-person renewal March 4-6 or March 11-13 at the University of Arizona. The 2020 festival was canceled due to the emerging pandemic and this year’s event was a scaled-back, all-virtual program offered online.

Two Arizona authors are wowing reviewers with novels releasing this summer. “Damnation Spring” by Flagstaff’s Ash Davidson was listed as one of the summer’s 10 best reads by the Los Angeles Times. “Appleseed” by Matt Bell of Phoenix received similar acclaim from Esquire magazine.

Speaking of independent bookstores, all of Tucson’s stores have resumed regular hours. Tucson’s four largest independent stores are also its oldest. The Books Stop first opened its doors in 1967. Antigone Books dates to 1973. Bookmans arrived in 1976, and the “youngster” in the group — Mostly Books — has been a staple on East Speedway since 1988.