Country Bookshelf

We are a local, independent bookstore located in historic downtown Bozeman. We are the place where people go to feel part of their community, of something bigger than themselves, a place to experience the power of literature and conversation, a place to feel safe, not judged, and encouraged to explore ideas and identities. We are the bookstore everyone dreams of — two floors of hand-selected volumes, knowledgeable, caring staff, and events to expand horizons.

The Country Bookshelf was first founded in 1957 by Polly Renne in a small shop just off Tracy Avenue, and after several years, Marguerite Kirk relocated the store to the White Chapel on West Main Street. Mary Jane DiSanti, owner of the bookstore for 36 years, then purchased the store and later moved it back downtown in 1986 to its current location, renovating and expanding the space which would eventually become a landmark. In 2010, Mary Jane transferred ownership to Ariana Paliobagis, who has continued to make the bookstore one of the most knowledgeable, people-friendly bookstores around.

Ariana is on the board of our local Downtown Bozeman Association, a member of the Advisory Council for the Dean of the College of Letters and Sciences at Montana State University, on planning committees for One Book One Bozeman, Children’s Festival of the Book, the Ivan Doig Symposium, and most recently on the awards committee for the Pacific Northwest Bookseller’s Association.