Lauren Groff and Clay Kallman were met with a crowd of cheers as they cut a red ribbon, signifying the opening of The Lynx Books in Gainesville on Sunday morning.
Located on Main Street next to the Gainesville Fire Rescue Station, The Lynx is a local, independent woman-owned general bookstore emphasizing books banned in Florida, LGBTQ+ books, books by Black, indigenous and people of color and Florida literature.
To Groff, the 45-year-old author and co-owner of the store, The Lynx’s mission extends beyond its name.
“In any town or city, independent bookstores are the beating heart, the nexus, the place that forms the links between many disparate communities,” Groff said.
Books have become a hot topic in Florida politics. Last May, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill limiting educational content on reproductive health and human sexuality in public schools — violations of this law range from loss of teaching credentials to legal repercussions.
When 37-year-old Elizabeth Salch, an avid member of the Ocala Book Club, heard about the bookstore opening, she knew she wanted to attend to support the books and the mission. She brought her mother, 62-year-old Suzanne Newell, along with her.
Salch expressed her strong opposition to Florida’s legislation, saying she would never try to control what her son reads.
“I hate it, to be honest,” Salch said. “I don’t feel like somebody should be able to tell somebody else what they can read and what they can’t read.”
Newell reiterated her daughter’s frustrations about recent actions by the Florida Legislature.
“When I read what this store was all about, [I was] totally behind it,” Newell said. “I think a bookstore like this is very important.”
Kevin Scott, a 49-year-old program director and Florida resident, hopes the store will bring inclusion, acceptance and representation to the Gainesville community.
“It shouldn’t seem radical that we have a bookstore like this. What should seem radical is that we don’t have bookstores that have full access to any author that you would want to read.”
The bookstore employees, who range from ex-baristas to yoga teachers to lawyers, are united by a common cause: their love for books.
“Toni Morrison is my favorite writer. So I would never want to work in a place where you can’t read Toni Morrison, and you can’t bring new readers to her work,” 30-year-old employee Ryan Tookes said.
As a woman of color and a writer, Tookes enjoys reading books that highlight voices that differ from her own culture and experience.
“This just felt like a big missing spot and somewhere where we could find community, so I was thrilled to be offered the job here.”
Marilyn Tubb, an 80-year-old retired communications worker, inductee of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Hall of Fame and active community member, wore a shirt reading “I’m with the banned” to reflect her feelings about the subject.
“I don’t subscribe to the idea that [the] government should tell us what we should read, or what we should say, or what we should think,” Tubb said.
Tubb serves on the Alachua County Library Foundation board and is particularly concerned about the pressure on librarians to take books off the shelves.
“Wherever people burn books, they will ultimately burn people,” said Groff. “We believe in and will fight for the right for free people to read freely.”