|
Bibliophilia: A Trip to Cortland's Bookbarn By Michelle Fawcett Is the snow piling up higher each day and claustrophobia setting in? Do you feel a need to break away from the day to day arising? How about taking a road trip away from Ithaca College and discovering what else is nearby? Hidden treasures exist throughout Tompkins County and searching them out is an adventure in itself. One such destination is the Book Barn of the Finger Lakes, located at 198 North Road in Dryden, New York. This used, rare, and scholarly bookstore holds nearly 98,000 books from over 258 categories. It is presented in what owner, Vladimir Dragan, calls a "psychodelic nature." Walking into the middle of the three barns, there is a complete sensory overload. Books are everywhere, piled on cramped shelves, all over the sales counter, and finding their way even to the floor. In the middle of towers of books is a bookseller rare as the books he sells. Vladimir Dragan prefers to buy and sell his books in person, without utilizing the internet. His completely personalized business, which he alone owns and operates, is a call back to the old ways of running a business. He even makes house calls to estates and libraries to buy and sell collections of used books. Even if you are not a huge reader, you are bound to find something of interest with the myriad of subjects and reasonable prices. Kids will even find a castle in the children's section to climb through, which Dragan says is for all ages. Meeting Dragan is worth the near half hour drive from campus. His enthusiasm for books exudes throughout conversation with him and his strong knowledge of books provides a more entertaining guide to what to read than the best seller's list. Dragan does not utilize computers within the barn, but instead knows the exact location of every book on his own. Mentioning a title, author, or subject to Dragan sends him off to the shelf in question to find the right book you are searching for. "I know what books are here and why they are here," said Dragan. Dragan keeps the main barn in order through strict rules; including returning each book to its original location and keeping children under supervision. His rules for visiting the barn are posted on the entrance door. Another rule states, "No parking on the lawn. Except starfleet ships." Meanwhile, the other two barns hold Dragan's own secrets as he insists, "they aren't open to earthlings." The barn itself is a sight to see as some parts of it date back to the Revolutionary War. It was set to be bulldozed around 1990, when Dragan, a Cornell University architecture graduate, bought the property to renovate the barn. In March 1993, the barn opened to a large crowd which stretched halfway down the long driveway. It is the biggest bookstore in the Finger Lakes region with a select set of titles to be sold. Dragan insists he only buys what he can sell and avoids fillers that are used just to stock up the shelves. He has even located and sold books from before the 1800's, as far back as the sixteenth century. The Book Barn is a unique spot to visit because each book was sought out for the constantly sold collection. Dragan sees that every book finds a home whether the customer pays by the conventional way--cash or check--or by old fashioned bargaining. Dragan finds his business "groovy." Another option, as in my case, is writing an article on the store, which provided me with a gift of GREEN EGGS AND HAM and TIME AND AGAIN. Both books give trips in themselves from the day to day of college life, and that is the goal of any good road trip. To find your way to the books and Dragan, drive past the mall on Route 13, until you reach a "V" in the road splitting off to North Road. The Book Barn of the Finger Lakes is hidden across from the traffic light for Tompkins-Cortland Community College. Beware that it is not located on Route 13, like false imitations, this book barn is further down on North Road and is red with green stripes. It is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00am to 5:30pm and Sundays from 12:00pm to 5:00pm. It is only closed for Thanksgiving day, Christmas Eve, Christmas day, and Vladimir's birthday (which he won't reveal). For information or more directions, call (607) 844-9365. Michelle Fawcett is a senior Cinema and Photography major at Ithaca College. |
