Iowa City bookstore remains part of the community

Name: Jan Weissmiller and Jane Mead

Title: Co-owners

Company: Prairie Lights

Address: 15 S Dubuque St., Iowa City

Phone: (319) 337-2681

Website: http://www.prairielights.com

Elevator speech: “We consider ourselves of this town.”

IOWA CITY - Jan Weissmiller and Jane Mead bonded over a love of poetry while studying at the University of Iowa Writer's Workshop.

Today they still share a love of poetry as work together as co-owners of Prairie Lights in Iowa City. The pair each purchased half the store from original owner Jim Harris in 2008.

“Sometimes people don't realize it's three floors of books, with a full floor dedicated to children's books,” Weissmiller said.

Prairie Lights, with 34 employees, also sells gift items - an area that's been increasingly expanding, Mead said - hosts books clubs and has e-books available for download on its website.

And of course they have long hosted readings by local, national and international authors - Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize winners included - as part of its “Live from Prairie Lights” series.

Customers also can stop by the 1,100-square-foot coffee section on the upstairs level, which has included wine since 2010.

“This is somewhat of a community center,” Weissmiller said.

“People are in here all the time, and we are working more and more to make it a community space. We consider ourselves of this town, so we try to make everyone feel welcome.”

The UI Writer's Workshop continues to be a resource for Prairie Lights.

“We have readingsalmost every night,” Weissmiller said. “There are writers coming through here all the time, and it feels like we are still at the center of things.”

Prairie Lights opened in 1978, and Weissmiller became the store's first full-time employee in 1979 as a UI undergrad.

“After I got my B.A., I continued to work here and I have been here ever since,” she said.

“Structurally we are equal partners, but Jan is also manager of the store” added Mead, who spends most of her time teaching college-level courses and tending to her family's ranch in California.

“We make major decisions together, and there have been more of them than we thought there would be because of the challenges selling books now. We hope to thrive without having to completely morph into not being a bookstore, so we talk with each other and brainstorm a lot on how to face it.”

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