Our Mission

Hilltop Books is operated by the Friends of the Chestnut Hill Library. Staffed by dedicated volunteers, our mission is to promote the needs of our local library. Hilltop Books is operated independently of the Philadelphia Free Library system but its proceeds benefit the Chestnut Hill Library branch. We are open 6 days a week and are proud to line our shelves with books we think you’ll love at a fraction of the retail price. Unless specially marked, all of our books sell at a third of the retail price. The books on our shelves span genres – including fiction, science, arts & architecture, biographies and memoirs, history, current affairs, health and wellness, ethnic studies, and kids books (a full room). At Hilltop you can pick up some treasures, support our public library, connect with neighbors, and keep your dollars local.

As a community shop, we also host events to educate and engage the community. 

History

In April 2021, we hosted our Grand Opening party at 84 Bethlehem Pike but Hilltop was a dream long before then. Our roots stem from the weekly used book sales hosted in the Community Room of the Chestnut Hill Library branch. Since the 1970s, Friends of Chestnut Hill Library volunteers sold books for $1, $.50 and $.25 every Monday afternoon. Week in and week out, a committed group of volunteers filled tables with books and repacked them for the following week’s sale.

Like today, the book sales benefited the library to maintain the property, augment programs, and plug the most yawning gaps in the City’s library budget. Today our work continues to support a robust public library system. When we opened our storefront doors in early 2021, Chestnut Hill hadn’t had a bookstore for more than a decade, since Borders closed in 2010. We’ve enjoyed a warm welcome from the Chestnut Hill community.


Contact Us

Hilltop Books
84 Bethlehem Pike, Philadelphia, PA 19118

[email protected]
(215) 315-8588