Link: Local bookstore stands firm against AI media
Pearl Street Books recently announced it will not knowingly carry any AI-generated books or materials.
July 13, 2026
Link: Therapy dogs help young readers at Pearl Street Books
Young readers found furry companions to share their favorite stories with during a special program at Pearl Street Books.
May 21, 2026
Link: La Crosse community celebrates the freedom to read during Banned Books Week
This annual event encourages readers to reflect on the power of literature and the dangers of censorship that continue today.
Oct 17, 2025
Link: Pearl Street Book’s Beth Hartung… ahead of Independent Bookstore Day
Pearl Street Books owner Beth Hartung and author Clemonce Heard join ahead of Independent Bookstore Day on Saturday. Before that, however, Heard will be having a social and reading at Pearl Street on his book Tragic City, a poetry collection on the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
Apr 24, 2025
Link: Ask a Bookseller: 'The Serviceberry' by Robin Wall Kimmerer
On The Thread’s Ask a Bookseller series, we talk to independent booksellers all over the country to find out what books they’re most excited about right now. Beth Hartung of Pearl Street Books in La Crosse, Wis., says… “The Serviceberry” is “a true gem of a book” that’s an “incredible joy to read.”
Jan 18, 2025
Link: Book bans, reading as a resolution, and what’s popular in ‘24
The owner of Pearl Street Books, Beth Hartung, and La Crescent’s public library director, Jess Witkins, stopped in the WIZM studio to discuss, what else, books, including the best of 2024, book bans, reading as a New Year’s resolution, and what’s changed in popularity over the year and years.
Dec 31, 2024
As the dust settles from Thanksgiving grocery shopping and Black Friday deal hunting, downtown storefronts are ready to make their cases as they seek to stand out from big-box retailers this weekend for Small Business Saturday.
Nov 24, 2023
Link: Pearl Street Books holds event celebrating the freedom to read
Fighting for the freedom to read.
That was the goal of an event held at Pearl Street Books in La Crosse on Saturday. The downtown bookstore held a talk and open mic that aimed to raise awareness about the rising number of attempts to ban books in schools and public libraries around the country.
Oct 8, 2023
Oct 6, 2023
Link: Newsmakers Interview - Banned Books Week 2023
The American Library Association estimates that there have been more than a thousand challenges to books so far in 2023. That marks a 20% increase over the same period last year. Joining us to talk about Banned Books Week, how bookstores and libraries decide what to carry, and how it all relates to constitutional rights…
Link: Women-owned businesses shine on La Crosse’s Pearl Street
Of all of the businesses on Pearl Street in downtown La Crosse, at least eight are women-owned. Women's history month is a chance to spotlight women's accomplishments-- and those start at home.
Downtowns are the heart of a city. On Pearl Street, women-owned businesses help keep that heart beating.
Mar 22, 2023
Link: Newsmakers Interview
This week on "Newsmakers," we're talking to Barry McKnight of the La Crosse Public Library and Beth Hartung of Pearl Street Books about what's on their reading list for 2023. And we'll ask how they help members of the public who are looking for the next perfect read!
Feb 24, 2023
Beth Hartung, owner of Pearl Street Books in La Crosse, WI, shares her vision for Pearl Street Books: changes she is making to the existing business model, how she curates the store’s book selections, and the surprises and challenges that have come with bookstore ownership. Beth shares her appreciation that bookstores are so much more than books, discussing what it means for Pearl Street Books to be “rooted in community” and the importance of building community relationships beyond simply selling books.
July 27, 2022
