Libreramente

Libreramente is a small independent bookshop and cultural centre located at C/ San Vicente 17 in the centre of Barakaldo, in the Basque Country of Spain. It was opened on Friday the 13th of 2019 by Enya Diez, a social and cultural anthropologist, feminist activist and self-described otaku, who was 26 years old at the time. Diez founded the shop with the stated aim of bringing back to her town what large chains were taking away, following the motto "from below and for everyone". The shop is run by Diez as its sole bookseller, but it presents itself as a collective project built together with its customers. Libreramente combines book retail with a dense programme of cultural activities: talks, workshops, presentations, book signings, reading clubs and special events. Its reading groups include a free reading club, a critical reading workshop, the feminist reading club "Las Libres", an introduction to Russian literature, a cycle on animalist literature, a cycle on women writers who died by suicide, monsters in literature, and the history of comics. New books arrive weekly and new activities are added monthly, with events adapted to customer requests. Commercially, Libreramente sells new books and offers home delivery within 24 to 48 hours for a flat fee of 3 euros. Orders and availability enquiries are handled by email and phone. The shop maintains a presence on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and a Telegram broadcast channel, and positions itself as a community alternative to large online retailers, with the slogan "Not everything is on Amazon". As a business, Libreramente is a private, independently owned micro-retailer with no parent company or group affiliation. Its identity is closely tied to its founder's feminist and community values, and it functions as much as a neighbourhood cultural venue as a bookshop.

Libreramente was opened on Friday the 13th of 2019 in the centre of Barakaldo, Spain, by Enya Diez. Diez was 26 years old at the time and describes herself as a social and cultural anthropologist by training, a feminist activist and an otaku in her free time. She founded the shop with little money but much energy, motivated by a desire to bring back to her town what large chains were taking away. The project was conceived as a community institution rather than a purely commercial bookshop. Diez has described the shop as built "from below and for everyone", and although she founded it alone, she often speaks in the plural because the shop is shaped collectively with its customers. Active listening and round tables with customers are used to decide what the bookshop offers, so that it grows to serve all of them. From its premises at C/ San Vicente 17, Libreramente has developed a programme of activities, training sessions and events that adapt to the tastes and needs of its clientele. These include talks, workshops, presentations, book signings, reading clubs and special events. Among its recurring activities are a free reading club, a critical reading workshop, the feminist reading club "Las Libres", an introduction to Russian literature, a cycle on animalist literature, a cycle on women writers who died by suicide, a series on monsters in literature, and a history of comics. The shop sells new books, with new titles arriving every week, and offers direct home delivery within 24 to 48 hours for a fee of 3 euros. Orders and availability enquiries are handled by email and telephone. Libreramente maintains an active online presence through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and a Telegram broadcast channel, and uses the slogan "Not everything is on Amazon" to frame itself as a community alternative to large online retailers. As of the available evidence, Libreramente remains an active, independently owned bookshop and cultural centre in Barakaldo, with no parent company or group affiliation and no publicly listed status.

• 2019

  Libreramente opens on Friday the 13th in the centre of Barakaldo, founded by Enya Diez.

Independent, community-oriented feminist bookshop and cultural centre positioned as an alternative to large chains and online retailers.

• New books

  New titles arriving weekly, sold in-store and by order.

• Home delivery service

  Direct home delivery within 24/48 hours for €3.

• Reading clubs and workshops

  Free reading club, critical reading workshop, feminist reading club "Las Libres", and thematic cycles.

1. 1Iniciolibreramente.com
2. 2Sobre mílibreramente.com
3. 3Libreramentewikidata.org