Librería Martínez de Chapman University — linking tradition with a new future

A beloved and landmark bookstore founded by Orange County cultural leader Ruebén Martínez will re-open with a ribbon cutting and open house Saturday, Oct. 27, in celebration of a new partnership with Chapman University.

Renamed Librería Martínez de Chapman University, the store will now be a non-profit educational venture.  With Martínez’s guidance and collaborative leadership, Chapman University has assumed responsibility for the bookstore’s operations, and is providing an enhanced business plan for the store’s retail operation as well as opportunities for donor support.   All proceeds from the store will be re-invested in the nonprofit educational initiative.

Festivities at Librería Martínez will kick off with a 10 a.m. ribbon cutting and be followed by welcoming remarks at 11 a.m. The open house will run until 5 p.m. Librería Martínez is located at 216 N. Broadway, Santa Ana.  Parking is located at corner of 3rd and Broadway.

Martínez founded the bookstore in 1993, after an informal lending library he operated from his Santa Ana barbershop blossomed into a community hub. In 2004 he received a MacArthur Fellowship “genius grant” in recognition of his community activism and work on behalf of literacy.

He currently serves as a Presidential Fellow at Chapman University.   He was granted an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters by Chapman University in 2011.