Origin, Mission, Vision, Values

Our Origin

Rozzie Bound started as an idea that Roy Karp talked about for several years: Roslindale should have a co-op bookstore.

Roy dipped his toes into the bookselling world with a used bookstore that popped up Saturdays at the Substation building in 2019. Rozzie Bound transitioned to an online store selling new books when the pandemic hit in 2020. During the pandemic Roy convened a steering committee to begin the transition to a worker-owner, consumer-owner co-op.

In April, 2022 Rozzie Bound, with a pair of folding, wheeled bookshelves, opened as a new-books microstore at The Substation, complete with author events and live music.

We officially became a co-op in August, 2022 with five worker owners and a nine-member co-op board, and started signing up consumer owners.

And in January 2023 we opened our own bricks-and-mortar home at 739 Street in Roslindale Square – right across Adams Park from The Substation.

Our vision, mission and values statements were drafted by our Cooperative Steering Committee’s Mission/Vision Working Group and adopted by the full Committee on October 5, 2021:

Our Vision

We envision a world that is cooperative: where all people have a real voice in decisions affecting their lives, live in harmony with one another and the natural world, and work together to cultivate joyful, just, and loving community.

Our Mission

Rozzie Bound is a dynamic indie bookstore and community gathering space that is cooperatively owned and operated by worker owners and consumer members.  Our mission is to strengthen community by fostering the joy of reading and connecting readers with books that inspire creativity, critical thinking, and civic engagement.  

We reflect and influence the life of the community through fun and engaging programs that celebrate our city’s rich diversity of experiences and perspectives.  We connect neighbors through literary, cultural, and educational programs such as workshops, author talks, book clubs, poetry and story slams, children’s story time, live music, and film screenings.  We model cooperative principles by developing partnerships with local schools, libraries, non-profit organizations, community-oriented businesses, and other cooperative enterprises.  We foster a supportive, respectful, democratic, and empowering workplace. And we serve as an incubator for innovative ideas for growing a more fair and equitable economy. 

Our Values

Rozzie Bound is about connecting people, sharing ideas, and building community.  We are guided in our work by the following core values: 

• Community – strengthening community by providing a space for shared learning and civic engagement.
• Justice – working toward an equitable and just society that actively works to dismantle systems of oppression and inequality.
• Cooperation – working in solidarity with nonprofits, social enterprises, and other cooperatives to build a sustainable economy that is fair, equitable, and democratic. 
• Diversity – promoting understanding and connections through literature that reflects a diversity of backgrounds and experiences.
• Creativity –  inspiring creativity to enrich our lives and our community through the arts.