Rok and Jan Williams, founders and owners of Northside Book Market, had announced their plans to retire and sell the bookshop this autumn. The two plan to spend more time with their children and grandchildren and to do more reading and traveling; they will also continue to take part in the Iowa City book community by adding an appraisal service to their online business, Arbor Books Iowa. With over thirty years' experience in the field, their talents will be in high demand.

Northside Book Market will be purchased at the end of this year by Nialle Sylvan, owner of The Haunted Bookshop. Beginning January 2, 2009, The Haunted Bookshop will move into the present Northside location at 203 North Linn Street in Iowa City. While the decision to leave the old house on Washington that has been the bookstore's home since the 1980's was difficult, Sylvan says, the opportunities at 203 North Linn Street are numerous. There will be more space to house the bookshops' conjoined collection of almost 50,000 books; a portion of the space will be devoted to toys, such as puppets and board games, which The Haunted Bookshop began carrying earlier this year; a portion of the shop would lend itself well to a performance space. Real Records will also remain, and Sylvan looks forward to sharing the space with "highly admirable music gurus."

The move is expected to take approximately two weeks, during which time Sylvan and assistants will make every effort to keep at least the Northside location open during The Haunted Bookshop's usual hours, 11am-7pm daily. (Real Records will keep its regular hours during the transition.)

What will change? Sylvan intends to rearrange the space a little to give more of a feel of "rooms" with topical themes like those at the current Haunted location, and the shelving will get a little taller to accommodate the expanded collection. Cats Nierme and Logan will join Sylvan at 203 North Linn Street, too. The conjoined bookstore will carry the Haunted Bookshop name, especially appropriate since Rok and Jan Williams actually started the Haunted together in 1978.

Sylvan also brings the added resources of the World Book Market, of which The Haunted Bookshop has been a member since 2006. The World Book Market is an association of independently owned bookshops around the planet with strong commitments to ethical business practices, shared resources - including the search services of dozens of members and a combined inventory of hundreds of thousands of titles - and shared internet services, making it easy for customers to browse the growing portion of The Haunted Bookshop's inventory available on the store's website at www.thehauntedbookshop.com.

What won't change? Expect the same quality and variety of books for sale, the same staff resourcefulness, and the same cartoons and quotes on the walls. The store will continue to offer cash or trade credit for used, rare, and out-of-print books, and customers' in-store credit balances at both shops will be honored at the new Haunted Bookshop. Most importantly, as always, browsers, collectors, students, families, writers, and other friends will be welcome to wander in and make themselves at home.