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{{header
| title = Final chapter for Spartacus in DTES
| author =
| override_author = Ian Austin
| section =
| previous =
| next =
| notes = ''{{w|The Province|The_Province}}'', 22 May 2014, p. A8.
}}

<div style="text-align:justify;">
<font size="7"><div style="text-align:right;">'''Final chapter for Spartacus in DTES'''</div></font>

<font size="4"><div style="text-align:right;">'''But quirky Hastings Street book store will begin new story on Commercial Drive'''</div></font>

<div style="max-width:500px; margin:auto;"><font size="2"><div style="text-align:right;">IAN AUSTIN</div></font>
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<font size="1"><div style="text-align:right;">THE PROVINCE</div></font>

{{tab}}Spartacus is down, but not out for the count.

{{tab}}{{w|Spartacus Books|Spartacus_Books}}, the little counter-<wbr>culture collective that could, has bucked traditions and sought social change for decades on the {{w|Downtown Eastside|Downtown_Eastside}}.

{{tab}}Now the mainstay is moving to {{w|Commercial Drive|Commercial_Drive,_Vancouver}}, pushed out as {{w|gentrification|Gentrification_of_Vancouver}} grips {{w|Hastings Street|Hastings_Street_(Vancouver)}} and the surrounding area.

{{tab}}In an age when bookstores are vanishing, Spartacus has a counter-<wbr>intuitive business plan that has so far beaten the odds{{dash}}nobody gets paid.

{{tab}}{{qq|We{{re}} all volunteers,}} said Alexander Daughtry, the longest-<wbr>serving collectivist{{dash}}he signed on to the non-<wbr>profit society in 1976, three years after it opened.

{{tab}}{{qq|Maybe I{{m}} in a rut,}} chuckled the 69-<wbr>year-<wbr>old, who credits his youthful appearance to working with a revolving volunteer workforce of over 1,000{{dash}}most of them kids.

{{tab}}{{qq|Most people are about 20 years old{{dash}}they come and volunteer for a while, then go back to school or get married or get a job.}}

{{tab}}While left-<wbr>wing activism and books may both seem to be endangered species, Spartacus survives by offering what others can{{t}}.

{{tab}}{{qq|These are tools for social change,}} says Daughtry. {{qq|Unlike a store that sells just the same seven popular novels, we carry hundreds of titles that people can{{t}} find anywhere else.}}

{{tab}}Old-<wbr>school, not-<wbr>for-<wbr>profit touches abound{{dash}}free public washrooms, free computer use, even a 24-<wbr>hour free phone just outside the entry.

{{tab}}Regular visitor Miranda de Groot makes the trip from {{w|Burnaby|Burnaby}} because she finds what she{{s}} looking for.

{{tab}}{{qq|That{{s}} why I come here{{dash}}it has things that I{{m}} interested in,}} said de Groot, working her way among the books crowded on donated bookshelves. {{qq|I can{{t}} find these things at {{w|Chapters|Chapters}}.}}

{{tab}}And she{{s}} got what a good book store needs{{dash|loyalty}}which means she{{ll}} also be making the crosstown trek to the store{{s}} new location at Commercial and 18th Avenue.

{{tab}}{{qq|I{{m}} not going to change{{dash}}I live in Burnaby, and it{{s}} definitely worth the commute,}} she said.

{{tab}}Long a fixture near {{w|Victory Square|Victory_Square,_Vancouver}}, the collective{{s}} future was darkest in 2004, when a fire{{dash|book{{s|r}} fiercest enemy}}had the group fearing for the worst.

{{tab}}{{qq|Our contribution to the community is recognized by the people who supported us when we needed it most,}} says Daughtry. {{qq|We didn{{t}} have fire insurance, so we lost everything.}}

{{tab}}Spartacus leaves behind a gentrifying block featuring the {{w|Union Gospel Mission|Union_Gospel_Mission}} Thrift Store, {{w|Mission Possible|Mission_Possible}}, and Tin Tin Printing, bound for a former neighbourhood grocery near the Croatian Cultural Centre that can accommodate new-<wbr>age, car-<wbr>free readers{{dash}}with a bus stop outside and a {{w|SkyTrain|SkyTrain_(Vancouver)}} line running overhead.

{{tab}}And an army of volunteers preparing to move a boatload of books across town{{dash}}as always, free of charge.

<div style="text-align:right;">''{{l|iaustin@theprovince.com|mailto:iaustin@theprovince.com}}''<br>''{{l|twitter.com/ianaustin007|http://twitter.com/ianaustin007}}''</div>

'''Spartacus Books, a longtime fixture on Hastings Street in the Downtown Eastside, is being forced to leave the neighbourhood.'''  <font size="2">JASON PAYNE/PNG FILES</font></div>

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