Still keeping books alive

Sam Weller's Zion Bookstore has never been all about books. In each of its three generations, it has spoken — its voice at once rooted in history and poised for change.

This month, as the store celebrates its 75th anniversary, Sam Weller's still has something to say.

When Gustav Weller opened the store in 1929, it was about entrepreneurship, hard work and realizing a new immigrant's American dream. When Sam Weller took over from his father in 1946, Sam Weller's Zion Bookstore stood firmly against the creep of censorship and book banning, weathering the thrilling, thunderous social and political events of the time.

Today, Tony Weller stands at another crossroads, looking out at a changing downtown, the onslaught of the Big Boxes and the possibility of a "paperless" society.

"We're at the tail end of what I believe is probably a 20-year cycle," Tony Weller said. "The city has been hurt a little by urban sprawl, by the corporatization of commerce in our community, and I think, by real estate maneuvering.

"Property down here is too expensive. Until we address the nature of property ownership, and the proper balance between private property rights and community rights, we will not have notable solutions to the problems that not only plague downtown Salt Lake but other old cities."

His thoughts flow like that — like syrup, warm and thick. In a back corner of the sprawling, 40,000-square-foot store at 254 S. Main, Weller — a self-identified Zen Buddhist anarchist — talks engagingly about philosophy and sociology, the struggles of man in a changing world. Mostly, though, he talks lovingly about books and living the life of a bookseller.

"We are the purveyors of human culture," he said. "No medium has been more stable and enduring in preserving human thought, human stories and human culture than books.

"Computers are great, but when the power goes out, they don't work. There's something about books that is very important, that I fear the current generation will forget. So one of my goals is to keep books alive in our culture."

Since he succeeded his father in ownership and management of Sam Weller's, Tony Weller has worked to balance the world of books — a world he calls "a little old fashioned, stimulating and romantic" — with the "what's next" world of selling. Tony Weller was 29 years old when he took over the managerial and ownership responsibilities of the store. He and his wife, Catherine, now own it outright.