Bookstores in Providence
Bookstores reward the browsers. Providence, Rhode Island has 27 mapped right now. That's 27 bookshops mapped around Providence, each with its own shelves and specialties. The used sections are where the real bargains hide.
This guide covers every bookstore we could verify in and around Providence (within about 40 km), built from OpenStreetMap's community-maintained data. Names you'll run into include Brown University Bookstore and Barnes & Noble, plus RISD store. If a bookshop's missing from Providence's list, it probably just hasn't been mapped yet.
The Providence bookstore lineup
27 mapped within about 40 km:
Brown University Bookstore
Bookstore
Brown University Bookstore — Bookstore, found on 244 Thayer Street in Providence. Also worth knowing about Brown University Bookstore: the map lists its hours as Mo-Fr 09:00-18:00; Sa 10:00-18:00; Su 10:00-16:00; it has a website with more detail.
244 Thayer Street, Providence, 02912
Hours: Mo-Fr 09:00-18:00; Sa 10:00-18:00; Su 10:00-16:00
Barnes & Noble
Bookstore
Barnes & Noble — Bookstore.
RISD store
Bookstore
RISD store is Bookstore.
Barnes & Noble
Bookstore
Barnes & Noble — Bookstore on 270 Hartford Avenue.
270 Hartford Avenue, 02019
Passages and Pourings
Bookstore
Passages and Pourings — Bookstore, found on 103 Main Street in Danielson. Also worth knowing about Passages and Pourings: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
103 Main Street, Danielson, 06239
Phone: +1 860 774-1712
Newbury Comics
Bookstore
Newbury Comics is Bookstore.
Riff Raff Bookstore and Bar
Bookstore
Riff Raff Bookstore and Bar is Bookstore on 60 Valley Street, Providence. Riff Raff Bookstore and Bar also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Tu-Th 12:00-22:00; Fr-Sa 12:00-24:00; Su 12:00-20:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
60 Valley Street, Providence, 02909
Hours: Tu-Th 12:00-22:00; Fr-Sa 12:00-24:00; Su 12:00-20:00
Phone: +1-401-421-4371
Barrington Books
Bookstore
Barrington Books is Bookstore.
Johnson & Wales University Bookstore
Bookstore
Johnson & Wales University Bookstore — Bookstore.
Johnson & Wales University Bookstore
Bookstore
Johnson & Wales University Bookstore — Bookstore.
Charter Books
Bookstore
Charter Books — Bookstore. Also worth knowing about Charter Books: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 10:00-18:00; Su 12:00-17:00.
Hours: Mo-Sa 10:00-18:00; Su 12:00-17:00
Escape Into Fiction
Bookstore
Escape Into Fiction is Bookstore.
Stillwater Books
Bookstore
Stillwater Books — Bookstore.
The Map Center
Bookstore
The Map Center — Bookstore, found on 545 Pawtucket Avenue in Pawtucket. Also worth knowing about The Map Center: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
545 Pawtucket Avenue, Pawtucket, 02860
Phone: +1-401-421-2184
Newbury Comics
Bookstore
Newbury Comics is Bookstore.
Symposium Books
Bookstore
Symposium Books — Bookstore.
The Yellow House
Bookstore
The Yellow House — Bookstore, found on 3842 Main Road in Tiverton. Also worth knowing about The Yellow House: the map lists its hours as Th-Su 11:00-16:00; it has a website with more detail.
3842 Main Road, Tiverton, 02878
Hours: Th-Su 11:00-16:00
Inkfish Books
Bookstore
Inkfish Books is Bookstore.
Commonwealth Books
Bookstore
Commonwealth Books — Bookstore, found on 29 Touro Street in Newport. Also worth knowing about Commonwealth Books: it has a website with more detail.
29 Touro Street, Newport, 02840
Heartleaf Books
BookstoreRun by Co-op
Run by Co-op, Heartleaf Books is Bookstore, found on 374 Atwells Avenue in Providence. Also worth knowing about Heartleaf Books: the map lists its hours as Mo-Su 11:00-16:00; We-Fr 12:00-19:00; Sa 11:00-19:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
374 Atwells Avenue, Providence, 02909
Hours: Mo-Su 11:00-16:00; We-Fr 12:00-19:00; Sa 11:00-19:00
Phone: +1-401-477-2294
An Unlikely Story
Bookstore
An Unlikely Story — Bookstore on 111 South Street.
111 South Street
Barnes & Noble
Bookstore
Barnes & Noble — Bookstore, found on 1350 Bald Hill Road in Warwick. Also worth knowing about Barnes & Noble: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 09:00-21:00; Su 10:00-19:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
1350 Bald Hill Road, Warwick, 02886
Hours: Mo-Sa 09:00-21:00; Su 10:00-19:00
Phone: +1-401-826-8885
An Unlikely Story
Bookstore
An Unlikely Story — Bookstore, found on 111 South Street in Plainville. Also worth knowing about An Unlikely Story: a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
111 South Street, Plainville
Phone: +1-508-699-0244
Books On the Square
Bookstore
Books On the Square — Bookstore, found on 471 Angell Street in Providence. Also worth knowing about Books On the Square: the map lists its hours as Mo-Th 10:00-19:00; Su 10:00-18:00; Fr-Sa 10:00-20:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
471 Angell Street, Providence, 02906
Hours: Mo-Th 10:00-19:00; Su 10:00-18:00; Fr-Sa 10:00-20:00
Phone: +1 401-331-9097
Paper Nautilus
Bookstore
Paper Nautilus — Bookstore.
Twice Told Tales
Bookstore
Twice Told Tales is Bookstore on 2145 Broad Street, Cranston. Twice Told Tales also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 10:00-17:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
2145 Broad Street, Cranston, 02905
Hours: Mo-Sa 10:00-17:00
Phone: +1-401-785-9599
Barnes & Noble
Bookstore
Barnes & Noble — Bookstore, found on 1305 West Main Road in Middletown. Also worth knowing about Barnes & Noble: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 09:00-21:00; Su 10:00-19:00.
1305 West Main Road, Middletown, 02842
Hours: Mo-Sa 09:00-21:00; Su 10:00-19:00
What the map tells us about bookstores in Providence
9 of the 27 list their opening hours on the map, which is genuinely useful — bookshops keep civilised hours, so the listed ones are usually reliable.
11 have websites listed. Worth a look for events — readings and signings get announced there first.
There's a cluster: 2 of them sit on 111 South Street, so you can string those into one walk and drive between the rest.
The Providence bookstore crawl
Making a day of it in Providence? Work this order: Brown University Bookstore on 244 Thayer Street, Barnes & Noble, RISD store, Barnes & Noble on 270 Hartford Avenue, Passages and Pourings on 103 Main Street, Newbury Comics, Riff Raff Bookstore and Bar on 60 Valley Street, and Barrington Books. That's the bookstore crawl in one sensible loop, no backtracking. 19 more are listed below.
Bookstore tips for Providence
A few things worth knowing before you work through Providence's bookstores:
- Bring a tote bag at Brown University Bookstore. Bookshops and tote bags are a natural pair. You'll need it — nobody leaves with the one book they came for.
- Read the first page in the shop at Barnes & Noble. The first-page test never lies. If it doesn't grab you standing there, it won't grab you at home.
- Learn your editions. A first edition, first printing is the collectible one. Booksellers will show you how to check the copyright page.
- Gift buying? Ask for wrapping. Many independents wrap beautifully and free. It beats a gift bag every time.
Good to know
We searched about 40 km around Providence — that covers the town itself plus the surrounding communities you'd reasonably drive to. Listings come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by local volunteers, so a brand-new bookstore in Providence can take a while to appear. If you spot one of the 27 that's closed, or a great bookstore we missed, the fix is to update the map itself — that's where this guide reads from.
We don't list prices — they change constantly and vary by edition. What we list is the where: real shops, verified by real mappers, in alphabetical order with no favourites.
If you run one of the 27 listed here and something's wrong — a closure, a move, new hours — the fix is the same: update the shop on OpenStreetMap and the correction flows through to this page on the next daily refresh.
Bookstore listings for Providence: 27 mapped from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Photos from Wikimedia Commons contributors; individual photo credits appear in captions. Listing data was last refreshed automatically — verify hours before visiting.