Oak Park celebrates Independent Bookstore Day on April 25th
Published on April 17, 2026
The Village of Oak Park and the Office of Economic Vitality invite booklovers of all ages to celebrate Independent Bookstore Day on Saturday, April 25th, with six independently-owned booksellers scattered throughout the community:
"Independent and locally-owned businesses are the backbone of what makes Oak Park such a special place to live, work and visit, and our bookstores are a shining example of that spirit," said Village Manager Kevin J. Jackson. "I'm grateful to the Office of Economic Vitality team for their tireless work championing initiatives like Independent Bookstore Day as it shines a spotlight on the incredible entrepreneurs who invest in our community. I encourage everyone to get out on April 25th and support these remarkable Oak Park businesses."
“This is a great opportunity to showcase Oak Park to the entire region as a terrific destination for bibliophiles of all types,” said Economic Vitality Administrator Michael Mertes. “In Oak Park’s six unique bookstores you can find anything from bestsellers and graphic novels to mint-condition used books and limited-edition printings and so much more. Considering that renowned authors Ernest Hemingway and Edgar Rice Burroughs once called Oak Park home, it’s no wonder that the written word continues to inspire this community.”
For the week leading up to Independent Bookstore Day, the Village will be promoting each of the businesses, and their respective owners, individually through the Pick Oak Park Facebook and Instagram pages. This will give an opportunity for residents, visitors and would-be shoppers to learn what makes each of these bookstores unique, while introducing them to the merchants who brought their vision and investment to Oak Park.
Four of Oak Park’s boutique retailers are among 80+ from around the region participating in the Chicagoland Bookstore Crawl. That is the highest number of bookstores participating of any municipality outside the City of Chicago.
Rich in its literary heritage, numerous acclaimed and best-selling writers have called Oak Park home. Most notably, Ernest Hemingway spent his formative years in the community. Born in Oak Park in 1899, the author of A Farewell to Arms and The Old Man and the Sea attended Oak Park and River Forest High School, where he wrote for the school paper and literary magazine. Edgar Rice Burroughs, famous for creating literary heroes such as Tarzan and John Carter of Mars, also called the Village home for much of the 1910s.
About Oak Park - The Village of Oak Park, located just nine miles west of downtown Chicago, offers a distinctive urban/suburban lifestyle in a thriving, multi-cultural community. Well-known for progressive values, tree-lined streets and bustling business districts, Oak Park serves as an ideal place to live, work and play. As a longstanding community of choice, the Village benefits from convenient access to local and regional transit, high-quality public schools, and arts and cultural attractions, including Frank Lloyd Wright’s home and studio and his acclaimed Unity Temple, which was recently designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.