The future of the Toronto Women’s Bookstore has been uncertain since December. Facing budgetary constraints the Harbord Street shop launched a fundraising campaign with a target of $40,000 in order to last until the end of their financial year, May 31. The store received another breath of life in May when it announced it had found a new owner, Victoria Moreno.
“I am really, really excited to have taken on this project,” Moreno told a gathering at TWB, “having made the Toronto Women’s Bookstore survive. But I will still need all of your support.”
Moreno’s strategy to revitalize the TWB includes creating a cafe, installing WiFi, and building a backyard garden. Plans also include hosting social nights to build the store’s role in the community. The store has acted as a community resource for Moreno since the late 1980s when she started as a staff member.
“I was really excited about coming to work at the bookstore for various reasons,” she says. “It was a point in time when I was deciding what my sexuality was. I had moved out of my parents’ home and started university. Being here was quite a phenomenal experience.”
In December the bookstore announced it was not receiving enough revenue and donations to carry on. Two months later a second call was issued looking for owners for mid-April to keep the store from closing at the end of May. Moreno says that purchasing the bookstore was an opportunity that presented itself to her after approaching the store to help work through their financial struggles.
“I was worried about the bookstore. I approached them when they had their fundraising event earlier this year… I never thought I���d be taking it over. I just thought maybe I could help with some consulting, see if there was a way I could volunteer my time.”
The bookstore is currently closed until in June due to legal issues. The official re-launch will take place in the late summer or early fall.
TWB underwent inventory and Moreno took over officially on June 1. The bookstore’s financial difficulties are far from over.
“I’m not too sure. I think the idea is that it will be at a point where it’s pretty close to zero, but we won’t know until the inventory is done.”
Moreno also recognizes the need to regain the trust of Toronto Women’s Bookstore oldest patrons: University of Toronto professors. The bookstore had lost confidence among professors in the recent past with late delivery for course materials and problems with availability.
