Barter Books is a second-hand bookshop in the historic English market town of Alnwick, Northumberland, owned and run by Stuart and Mary Manley. It has over 350,000 visitors a year, 40% of whom are from outside the area, and is one of the largest second-hand bookshops in Europe.^[1] It is considered a local tourist attraction^[2] and has been described as "the British Library of second-hand bookshops."^[3]

The bookshop is in the Victorian Alnwick railway station, designed by William Bell and opened in 1887.^[4] The station was in use until the closure of the Alnwick branch line in 1968;^[5] Barter Books was opened in 1991. It is open every day including bank holidays except for Christmas Day.

The shop also houses a cafe called The Station Buffet which serves hot food all day to customers at tables in the original tiled waiting rooms of the railway station. ^[6]

The shop is notable for its use of a barter system, whereby customers can exchange their books for credit against future purchases; standard cash purchases are also available.

In 2000 the owner discovered, in a box of old books bought at an auction,^[7] a World War II poster from 1939 with the message "Keep Calm and Carry On". The shop owners framed it and hung it up by the cash register; it attracted so much interest that Manley began to produce and sell copies.^[8][9]

In late 2005, Guardian journalist Susie Steiner featured the replica posters as a Christmas gift suggestion, raising their profile still further.^[10][11] Other companies followed the Manleys' example, and the design rapidly began to be used as the theme for a wide range of products.^[12] Mary Manley later commented, "I didn't want it trivialised; but of course now it's been trivialised beyond belief."^[12]

• Book trade in the United Kingdom