In an exploration of Ann Arbor’s robust and diverse literary scene, The Michigan Daily’s Business beat spoke with seven downtown bookstores. Each article in ‘The literary culture of downtown Ann Arbor’ project aims to capture each store’s unique offerings and contribution to the community. Read the other articles here.
From Polish history and stage magic to young adult and mystery books, The Dawn Treader Book Shop has recycled used and brand-new books throughout the Ann Arbor community since 1976. Originally a bookbindery, the shop eventually started selling used books. After several relocations, Dawn Treader became a well-known spot for Ann Arbor residents to find their latest read on East Liberty Street.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, current owner Africa Schaumann said Dawn Treader and the greater Ann Arbor community ensure their books don’t go to waste after being sold once.
“We might sell a book at the beginning of the school year in August, and then we get it back halfway through the school year and then we sell it again before the summer,” Schaumann said. “So I think that’s probably a not as well-known benefit that the bookstores in the town really provide to the community in terms of cutting down on trash and waste.”
Schaumann said she was first exposed to Dawn Treader while growing up in Ypsilanti. Dawn Treader was one of her father’s favorite bookstores; they would often come to Ann Arbor, making stops at the bookstore and Pinball Pete’s, then ending the day with a slice of pizza. Eventually, Schaumann entered a part-time position at Dawn Treader in 2018 before taking ownership in 2022 after the previous owner, Bill Gillmore, suddenly passed away.
“The former owner always wanted it to be a multi-generational shop,” Schaumann said. “So he and I talked about it — he told me that he thinks I’m the new generation of The Dawn Treader, so I just kind of assumed that responsibility.”
Similarly to Schaumann, the bookshop’s manager Chris Black said he had visited Dawn Treader in the 1970s, long before he assumed his role as store manager in 2018. In an interview with The Daily, Black described the mountain of books behind his usual spot at the front counter.
“(Some books) are really easy to go through and determine the value and their price,” Black said. “Others, you can just go down the rabbit hole trying to figure out what to price them at and what to do with them. Until then, they tend to stack up and they can get really backed up.”
According to Black, Dawn Treader’s inventory comes from all corners of Ann Arbor, with additional donations from all kinds of people and places.
“A professor at (the University) will retire and, all of a sudden, we have an influx of philosophy or German or whatever their specialty was,” Black said. “Somebody’s parents or grandparent will pass away, and they’ve got a huge library.”
From carpeted floors to piles of books, Schaumann said Dawn Treader has maintained a unique home-like quality that has kept customers coming back over the years. Schaumann also said the shop covers almost all topic areas, genres and niches.
“(Customers) come to the bookshop for comfort, and so we’re really interested in providing that and take it seriously,” Schaumann said. “A lot of people come in and they say, ‘Wow, this reminds me of my grandfather’s den’ — it’s just an evocative space for people.”
Rackham student Shanley Corvite told The Daily she prefers Dawn Treader to other bookstores in Ann Arbor, highlighting a book she had heard about in class that she was finally able to find inside the store.
“I feel like it’s fun looking through all the older books and things like that, versus something more organized,” Corvite said. “There was one book … that I always heard (about) in class but have never seen in person, but I was able to find it here.”
Schaumann said the goal of the shop is to maintain its existence in the community regardless of profit, which includes doing everything she can to pay her employees fair wages and keep books at a reasonable price.
“When I became the manager, the first thing I did was change the minimum wage we pay from $7.25 to $15,” Schaumann said. “So it has been $15 since 2018, which as a used bookstore is pretty impressive because a lot of used bookstores don’t have staff. So I want to make sure that I’m taking care of my staff and making a very marginal take-home profit for myself at the end of the day.”
Some of Schaumann’s favorite memories while owning the store range from customers calling the store a safe space to the time the shop coordinated an engagement, stringing lights from the bookshelves and taking photos for a newly-engaged couple. She said her favorite memory was when a customer requested a children’s book from her childhood that dated back to the 1950s, hoping the book would jog the memory of her sister who had Alzheimer’s disease.
“I called dealers, and I called a few different people, and I was able to find the book and send it to her,” Schaumann said. “A few weeks later, she sent us a card that said that the book worked.”
At the end of the day, Schaumann said stories like these remind her what she runs is more than just a business.
“The phrase I use for it is the commerce of community, because it goes beyond money so often,” Schaumann said. “People come to the store on their best days and their worst days.”
Daily News Editor Barrett Dolata can be reached at bdolata@umich.edu.
