Some days in store ‘just like Christmas’
Love of reading, customers makes Shelf Life Used Books the right fit for Killen
She has a passion for the printed word and recognizes that all things have a shelf life.
After working in community journalism in the Annapolis Valley for several years, Heather Killen decided to start her own business. She had always loved books and book stores. She thought having her own book store would be a good fit, so she began exploring opportunities.
Killen has a friend in Middleton, Jonathan Archibald, with a book store called Blue Griffin Books. She said he helped her a great deal as she worked toward opening her own store, Shelf Life Used Books. Others, including Jim Tillotson of The Odd Book in Wolfville, were also very supportive.
She said this is one great thing about being in the used book business in the Valley. The owners of similar stores are very helpful and supportive of each other. Killen said they even acted as mentors to her.
“We try to work together,” Killen said. “I think we would rather have someone shop for a book in another store than online.”
She said there is a certain randomness to shopping at a used book store that you don’t experience when shopping online. It’s a great way to find something different or unique that you weren’t expecting. Killen describes her inventory as “eclectic.”
“There’s an opportunity for serendipity here that you don’t get necessarily online,” Killen said.
When she was considering opening the store, Killen thought she likely had another 15 to 20 years that she wanted to work. She thought, ‘we all have a shelf life, how are we going to spend it?’ That’s where the initial inspiration for the business name came from.
Like the buyers on the TV show Storage Wars, Killen purchased a storage locker containing an inventory of used books from a store in
PEI that had gone out of business. She used this as the core inventory for her store and began acquiring more.
Killen said one aspect that she really enjoys is that you never know what is going to come through the door. She has always loved reading and some days are “just like Christmas.”
For example, she recently acquired a collection including works of historical fiction and several Louise Penny books. Killen said there were two Louise Penny’s that she wanted for her own collection but she did put some of them out on the shelf.
“It’s kind of like, I guess, if you work in a candy store,” Killen said. “You don’t want to eat your own inventory but it’s hard sometimes because you love books.”
The store was originally located in Berwick but can now be found at 373 Main St., Unit 1, in Kentville. Killen said it’s tough starting out because the rent on commercial space tends to be very high. She had intended to open in Kentville from the start but it took more than two years before she was able to find a space in her price range.
As a small business owner, Killen is thankful to her landlord for being so supportive during the COVID-19 pandemic when everyone had to close down. She is also grateful to the community for its continuing support of her business.
The Halifax native and Kings County resident said it’s the people and the conversations that truly make the business so enjoyable. She loves interacting with her customers, who she describes as “smart” and “interesting” people. She learns a lot about various book genres from them.
Behind the Business is a regular feature that introduces you to local businesspeople. Want to suggest someone that should be featured? Email your idea to scott.doherty@saltwire.com.