The Independent Bookshop / Ujamaa Books
The Independent Bookshop in Sheffield, originally known as Ujamaa Books, began as bookstalls operated by two University of Sheffield student groups, Third World First and Community Action.
The shop started in a building slated for demolition on Regent Street before relocating to West Street with the help of a Cooperative bank loan.
In 1979, Dave Walton, the only paid worker at the time, registered the shop as a workers' co-op, renaming it The Independent Bookshop and forming a collective of unpaid political activists to support its mission.
The bookshop moved to its third premises on Glossop Road, near the University and the Hallamshire Hospital. It remained there until 1986. The bookshop finally settled at 67-69 Surrey Street in 1986, a dilapidated Georgian building that the workers restored.
The bookshop stocked a wide range of radical literature alongside conventional titles, university syllabus books, posters, cards, and children's books. Its book selection was heavily influenced by its tenants, resulting in robust sections on African literature and health and well-being.
The bookshop became a hub for local activism, stocking controversial titles like An Phoblacht and Satanic Verses, which made it a target for far-right groups, leading to multiple attacks.
The Independent Bookshop couldn't withstand the combined pressures of the end of the Net Book Agreement and competition from nearby Waterstones. The bookshop closed in 1998, and its location is now occupied by a Starbucks, a stark contrast to the ethos and values of the former bookshop.
Sources:
Radical Bookselling History Newsletter Issue 3, October 2021, ISSN 2752-3977 [https://www.leftontheshelfbooks.co.uk/pdf/Radical-Bookselling-History-Newsletter-Issue-3-October-2021.pdf, accessed 8.7.2025]
Radical Bookshops Listing, Radical Bookshop History Project (November 2023) [Available online here, accessed 8.7.2025]
The Radical Bookseller, Pilot Issue, Fri Nov 2nd 1979; No. 48, Sept/Oct 1986; No. 75, 1991
