About
Welcome, book lover! Books With A Past is a used bookstore located just off I-70 in Glenwood, Maryland. We offer a variety of genres, both in fiction and non-fiction, for your perusal. You are welcome to come in and browse, though of course we hope you will fall in love with some of our book or gift offerings and decide to give them a good home.
Books With A Past was opened in 1996 by Marvin and Mary Alice Schaefer. Over the first few years, the Schaefers expanded from a small 1400-square-foot store with 7,000 volumes to a 4,200-square-foot, 100,000 volume size. In December 2009, the Schaefers sold Books With A Past, name and all, to Erin Matthews. Erin is an avid reader who has wanted to own a bookstore since she was 15. She is grateful to the Schaefers and to the local community who have made this dream possible.
In the summer of 2012, we renovated the store, decreasing its size from 4,200 square feet to 2,800 square feet and about 75,000 volumes. We’re very excited about the change, as it allows us to better curate each section. We’ve even expanded some areas like children’s and classics. We’re also able to be a little pickier about the quality of the books we take in, which means our customer get a nicer-looking product.
Books With A Past carries a little bit of everything, from astronomy to mystery to zebras. Though we carry thousands of popular titles, we also offer extensive selections in more specialized disciplines. We buy and sell books daily in an effort to create as diverse and interesting a collection as possible.
New and recently-renovated sections include:
- Brand new books (featuring classics, crafts, and cookbooks along with many other non-alliterative sections)
- Children’s
- Mystery/Thriller
- Apparel and Toys
Follow our progress! The thermometer indicates the quantity of our inventory online via Amazon, Alibris, and our own online store.
