About us

BookSpace is a small independent company specialising in inspiring children to read and write. As part of the Opening the Book group, BookSpace was established in 2009 to serve the needs of the educational market. As a company, BookSpace prides itself on spending a lot of time researching, testing and designing products which solve the problems faced by teaching and library staff. BookSpace products include BookSpace Shelving, a modular, flexible, freestanding shelving system; BookSpace furniture – a range of innovative book display units; and WordSpace, a range of creative writing resources designed to inspire children to write.

BookSpace was set up in 2009 as a division of Opening the Book Furniture. Opening the Book Furniture was set up as Opening the Book Promotions in 2001 by Rachel Van Riel and Helen Thomas, to meet the needs of public libraries by bringing together the best of reader development and retail approaches. Rachel, as Director of Opening the Book, the company she founded in 1991 to work with readers and libraries, brought a vast reader-centred knowledge to the business and Helen, brought a wealth of retail experience having been Director of Book Communications, a consultancy working within the library and literature sectors, and also Head of Marketing for Dillons Bookstores. Opening the Book Furniture established itself in Birmingham, at the Custard Factory – now an arts complex but formally Bird’s Custard Powder factory. During the first years, the company offered a mix of furniture units (some of which are still best-sellers like the Table Unit) and high-quality reader-centred graphics and promotions. The company has grown substantially since 2001 and is now based in Birmingham’s historic Jewellery Quarter with a showroom which customers are welcome to visit.

Philosophy

The key philosophy of Opening the Book Furniture and now BookSpace remains the same as it always has – to enable schools and libraries to make the discovery of books and writing attractive and exciting.

Our approach to developing book display furniture is unique. We always start from the end-user perspective, the customer who will select a book or a dvd from your display. What are the factors which will influence them to stop and look; to reach and touch; to take and borrow? How do these vary for different target audiences – the toddler exploring the physical world and the movement of their own body; the teenage dreamer; the student focused on finding the relevant text as fast as possible?

All of our products are designed to make the discovery of books exciting. Shelves are designed at the right height and angle to tempt children to browse. Furniture units and shelf adaptations showcase books face-forward to make them irresistible for passers-by.We spend a lot of time working with schools up and down the country and this network allows us to see what is and isn’t working. This knowledge and information is invaluable and forms the basis for developing and refining our range of furniture.

When we set out to develop a new unit or range of furniture, we spend months researching the needs of the user and considering possible designs. We build prototypes to test the look and the functionality of the design, we get feedback from schools and then we refine again. Some units go through several different versions until we are confident the furniture will enhance the books and make them king! If borrowers can’t help but be attracted and reach out and grab a book then we’re happy we’ve done our job!

Manufacturing

All of our units are manufactured to high quality in the UK. Materials, production and assembly are 100% quality controlled and every item is inspected prior to despatch. We believe in sustainable design and our units are built to last – the concept, design, materials and construction will continue to deliver high quality performance over many years. Our manufacturer of wood and metal units uses the latest machinery for on-site recycling of waste to heat the factory; computerised monitoring of emissions; and sophisticated MRP (Materials Requirements Planning) software combined with CAD/CAM manufacturing to optimise board use and minimise waste. Products are manufactured under the Quality Management System ISO 9000: 2000 and use environmentally friendly alternatives to imported hardwoods. The main raw material is timber and co-products, which are purchased and primarily sourced from renewable UK forests and managed on a sustainable yield basis. All our acrylic products are made from recyclable materials and our manufacturer arranges for any surplus acrylic to be recycled and reused. All our products go through a number of prototyping stages to ensure that the units are safe, sturdy and fit for purpose. A number of our specialist children’s products are FIRA tested to ensure they conform to the relevant British Standards.

Distribution

We have recently invested in a new warehouse in Birmingham which is an important acquisition and underpins our commitment to providing the best service for our customers. In addition to the new warehouse space, we have also purchased a new van which allows us to offer a more flexible and professional service for customers.

We distribute across the UK as well as to many businesses overseas.

Because we use a dedicated delivery team who will set your unit in place and ensure you are happy with the product before they leave, we can take the packaging materials away with us too, which means we can recycle a lot of our packaging.