300 residents in small Michigan town help bookstore move 9K titles to new shop space with ‘book brigade’: video

A small town bookstore in Michigan took a novel approach to moving.

About 300 residents in the small Michigan city of Chelsea formed a “book brigade” to help move Serendipity Books to a new storefront Sunday, according to a heartwarming video showing the massive team effort.

The volunteers formed a pair of lines as they passed off each title – about 9,100 in all – from the shop’s former spot to a new building down the block and around the corner on Main Street in the community of around 5,300 people.

It took only a couple of hours to move all the novels – a much shorter endeavor than if a moving company had to pack and unpack the thousands of books.

Owner Michelle Tuplin was astounded and grateful for the tremendous helping hand.

“It was a practical way to move the books, but it also was a way for everybody to have a part,” she said.

“As people passed the books along, they said ‘I have not read this’ and ‘that’s a good one.’”

Video posted on the business’ Instagram page with the song “Everyday People” synced into the social media post showed residents of all ages continuously handing off books one at a time until each landed on a shelf.

Tuplin has been the owner since 2017 and was planning the move since January. She has just three part-time workers.

One employee, Kaci Friss, who grew up in Chelsea, said the support for Serendipity reminded her “how special this community is.”

“It’s a small town and people just really look out for each other,” Kaci Friss, 32, said.

“Anywhere you go, you are going to run into someone you know or who knows you, and is going to ask you about your day.”

With Post wires.