Not your typical job description, please read thoroughly!

We are a large used bookstore located near the Susquehanna River in Columbia, PA. We specialize in Out-of-Print books on the arts and broader humanities. These books are mostly from the 20th and 21st Centuries, but some stretch back into the 1600s. We ship books all over the world. We have been doing this for almost 33 years and have well over 100,000 books here on over 2.5 miles of shelving. We are open by appointment only and almost all our business is online.
This job would require, generally, the following behaviors, mostly in the order presented:

1. Arrive at the shop consistently within expected and negotiated parameters. You are sober, not hung over, neat and presentable to the eyes of your fellow workers, do not smell like weed or cigarette smoke or vaping stuff and drive a dependable car.

2. You ascend a long staircase, perhaps carrying a 30 pound box of books that was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. It took initiative to figure out it needed to come upstairs. Initiative is a good thing in this job, as is the ability to figure stuff out intuitively.

3. On your way to your desk or work area, you might have put your lunch or dinner in the fridge, located in our full kitchen with a gas stove.

If you are a Cataloguer, you will pick up where you left off the day before. We have 3000+ books at any given time that need to be researched and catalogued. We use a shared database that is based on Filemaker and it is very straightforward. There are 125,000 records within it, half of which are archival. A thorough knowledge of the alphabet and numbers, as applied not only to English but to every western language known, will serve you really well at this point, because that’s what we use to catalogue, file and locate the books we catalogue and sell. Our books are written in many different languages, but English is the most common. You will use the internet and specific sites to gather intel about the books you are cataloguing. Sometimes the owner will have priced the book for you, other times you will need to figure it out. The ability to properly file these books is essential and consistency is vital.

The ability to lift 30 pounds is essential. Other useful qualities or traits in this position are:

The ability to read the owner’s mind; the ability to talk trash on politicians of all parties without taking anything personal; the ability to listen to the Grateful Dead or Funkadelic or metal or oldies; the ability to work independently and solve problems and not walk away from them; the ability to handle beautiful objects without getting distracted by them (ie not too much reading on the job); the ability to not be offended by the naked human body in various presentations (these are art books, after all); the ability to be constructively critical and look for better ways to do things, and be patient when the owner is slow to grasp what it is you’re saying; the ability to figure computer stuff out (tech savvy approaching geek is fine, we are an inclusive environment!); the ability to not whine or fuss while working; the love of learning for the sake of learning.

Seriously now, this job has few benefits, like none. We have a few paid holidays, and no paid vacation. No health benefits. We have very fine air conditioning and heat and a stable computer network. We offer an extremely flexible schedule in terms of when you want to work, and the pay is going to be $13/hr. to start so you know Bernie Sanders would not approve of this message. A review after 90 days will likely result in a raise, but it will not be huge. When there is large profit, we tend to share it. These are excellent positions for anyone to whom a flexible schedule is as important as anything else. Retirees, parents with kids in school, art lovers of independent means, college students, etc. These are jobs which will stimulate your brain and keep you engaged, and you will be working with other people who have intellect and can carry on a conversation on a variety of subjects they have encountered during their life experiences. Nobody here is getting rich, but we all really enjoy what we are doing and thrive on the mental stimulation that working with art books provides.

We prefer someone who can work 35-40 hours per week for the Cataloguer positions. The willingness or desire to work on a Saturday or Sunday would be a plus, but is not part of the core position and is not required. But it is possible should it make these positions more attractive for you. Thanks for reading all the way through this.

DO NOT CALL or you will not get this position. DO NOT STOP IN unannounced or you will not get this position. Period. Send me an email telling me why you’d like to try this and why you would be able to work long-term at a job with no traditional benefits and low pay. I do not wish to be the source of dismay or misunderstanding for anyone, and want great and happy team members!