Michelle Tuplin, the owner of Serendipity Books in Chelsea, Michigan, US asked for volunteers when it was time to move the store’s location to a larger facility, approximately 350 feet from its former home.

Residents of all ages stood in two lines along the pavement in Chelsea, passing each of the books down the line directly to the correct shelves in the new building, down the block and around the corner on Main Street.

“It was a practical way to move the books, but it was also a way for everybody to have a part,” Michelle said. “As people passed the books along, they said ‘I have not read this’ and ‘that’s a good one’. To see the community come out, it truly just meant the world, it was overwhelming.”

Momentum had been building since Michelle announced the move in January. “It became so buzzy in town. So many people wanted to help,” she said.

The entire operation took just under two hours – much shorter than hiring a moving company to box and unbox the thousands of titles. The ‘book brigade’ even put the books back on the shelves in alphabetical order.

Michelle hopes to have the new store open within two weeks.

The bookstore has been in Chelsea, about 60 miles (95 km) west of Detroit, since 1997 and Michelle has been the owner since 2017 and has three part-time employees.