Full Circle Bookstore celebrates 50th anniversary

BY ANGI BRUSS

For five decades, Full Circle Bookstore has been a pillar of the Oklahoma City community, serving as a reliable, trustworthy, and authentic space for people to find enjoyment and enlightenment.

In addition to offering thousands of books, magazines, and more since opening its doors the beloved bookstore has presented engaging opportunities for the community to meet world renowned New York Times bestselling authors and hundreds of local authors. Full Circle Bookstore is the largest independent, locally-owned, general interest bookstore in Oklahoma.

To honor the success and love shown by the community for this locally-owned bookstore, Full Circle celebrated its 50th year anniversary with a special event on June 5 to a crowd of more than 300 that packed into the bookstore. The crowd included some of the first people to work at Full Circle Bookstore when it opened five decades ago.

Dana Meister, Full Circle Bookstore General Manager explained how Full Circle Bookstore is immersed in the local community.

“We are more than a bookstore, we are a place where memories are made,” said Meister. “We have hosted weddings and proposals, baby showers, and memorial services. We want to thank our friends for supporting us.” The celebration included wine and champagne, birthday cake, and live music. There were remarks from Full Circle Bookstore owner Jim Tolbert as well as longtime friends of the store. Among community members who gave remarks were Chairman of BancFirst Corporation Gene Rainbolt, Myriad Gardens Foundation and Scissortail Park Foundation CEO and President Maureen Heffernan, and internationally renowned photographer and author Yousef Khanfar.

Jim Tolbert said, “Full Circle has more than 60,000 new titles in stock featuring every genre imaginable, like fiction, biography, history, culture, mystery, cooking, crafts, fashion, home decor, women‘s studies, education, health, entertainment, travel, and classic literature. We also have large sections devoted to Oklahoma authors, Native American books and regional interest titles as well as magazines, gift cards, maps, and book-related gifts.”

There’s an unmistakable ambiance and charm in the bookstore with its 13-foot oak bookcases with rolling ladders and wood-burning fireplaces. Customers are also entertained by classical, jazz, and folk music played throughout the store. Many have expressed their love for the bookstore, as shown on Full Circle’s website.

“As an author I’ve signed books at Full Circle, my hometown independent bookstore, enjoyed friendship and kindness and found wonderful books that have touched me

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deeply,” said Carolyn Hart, Edgar Award Winning Author. “It is Oklahoma City’s great good fortune that owner Jim Tolbert’s idea of happiness is to spend time in the very best bookstore he could create, a bookstore with a heart, a nurturing oasis for readers. Full Circle’s impact on me has been profound and I am only one of thousands who have come to the store.”

Full Circle also boasts The Garden Café, which serves a delectable breakfast and lunch. Patrons can enjoy coffee, locally brewed beer, and wine. Along with a delicious selection of soups, salads, sandwiches, and sweets.

Publisher of a wide and varied selection of Oklahomacentric nonfiction, Full Circle has published more than a dozen local books. These publications are books not found anywhere else. Books like, “Operation Scissortail,” “Skirvin,” “Big League City,” “Foraging in Oklahoma,” and, “Oklahoma City’s MAPS for Kids.” “Full Circle has been our city’s all-but-official bookstore for decades, but it is so much more than a bookstore—it is a publisher of important local histories, it is a host of important local policy discussions, it is an intellectual refuge. Full Circle Books is Oklahoma City’s brain,” said David Holt, Mayor of Oklahoma City. n