Amazon Bookstore Cooperative Amazon Bookstore Cooperative Amazon Bookstore Cooperative was a feminist bookstore located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that operated from 1970 to 2012. It was the first lesbian/feminist bookstore in the U.S. The shop was named after the Amazons, a mythological tribe of fierce and independent women. After decades in business, it sold its name to Amazon.com. In 1970 when Amazon was founded by Rosina Richter Christy and Julie Morse Quist, it was far from a full-fledged bookstore. The books were kept in the front room of the women's collective they lived in and books were only available from 3 to 6 PM
Independent bookstore of the 20th century, almost all bookstores in the United States were independent. In the 1950s, automobiles and suburban shopping malls became more common. Mall-based bookstore chains began in the 1960s, and underwent a major expansion in numbers in the 1970s and 1980s, especially B. Dalton and Waldenbooks. Big box chains also expanded during this period, including Barnes & Noble (which also acquired Texas chain Bookstop), Borders, and Crown Books. Amazon.com was founded during the dot-com boom in 1994 and exclusively sold books until 1998. By the 1990s, these competitive pressures had put independent bookstores under considerable financial pressure and