Derby Square Book Store
From Salem Links and Lore
Robert and Elizabeth Monroe started the Derby Square Book Store in 1975. It had survived on the same spot in Derby Square run by sons Ted and Frank Monroe after their parents retired.
It earned a reputation for being an unusual bookstore with tens of thousands of books in less than 1,000 square feet of space, tall towers of books rising past most customers' heads. Early on they survived on school book fairs and selling technical books to high-tech firms along Route 128.
The store was known for its great customer service and would try to get you any book title in print. It survived while many other book stores went out of business.
Derby Square will close its doors for good on April 17, 2014.
