Our Purpose
The question each of us goes to work asking everyday, and that each of us answers in ways unique to our individual strengths, is: How can we help you?
Born out of a local independent bookshop founded in 1927 and perfecting an expertise in moving books in bulk since 1984, Porchlight Book Company has a deep knowledge of industry history and publishing trends. Our intimate and hard-earned talent for physically moving books around the globe on a specific deadline, our ability to customize those books for a specific audience or client, and our online championing of books are all in the service of helping authors, publishers, and businesses navigate book sales.
Porchlight Book Company exists to provide services that help support authors’ and publishers’ contribution to a vital and vigorous marketplace of ideas. We do so, first and foremost, by employing talented, creative individuals who know books and excel at getting the right ones into the hands of the right people at the right time. Whether it’s the latest trends in business and culture, the most pressing public issues of our times, or recipes for meals that provide both sustenance and a place to gather for our families, our aim is to spread books and ideas that support the betterment of individuals, families, organizations, and communities that turn to books for guidance.
Our Oath
In the interest of our customers’ satisfaction and our own core values, we strive every day to provide the highest quality service while contributing to an enjoyable, collaborative working environment.
Our Constitution
WE BELIEVE IN BOOKS.
We believe in a book’s inherent value as a means of spreading information and culture, and we believe in the soul of the individual book—that once launched into the world, it can take on a life of its own and have a profound effect on business, our society, and culture.
WE BELIEVE IN EACH OTHER.
We believe in our co-workers and, while we do not always agree, we support one another and contribute to each other’s—and the company's—success. We also believe in the importance of publishers' and authors’ work in society, perhaps not in every idea in every book of theirs we sell, but in the free exchange of ideas and an author’s right to express themselves.
WE ARE HERE TO HELP.
We are a service company, and we come to work every day to help authors and publishers sell their books and share their ideas—and by doing so, we believe we can help improve the community as a whole.
WE ARE ALL LEADERS.
We take responsibility for ourselves as respectful members of our company and for the direction and success of our own work. The benefit to our customers is in our individual power to make decisions that will expedite their purchases and solve logistical problems, creating a confidence in our staff as experts and independent thinkers.
WE CULTIVATE LASTING RELATIONSHIPS.
Each one of us is a link in a chain that represents both our internal company culture and our external reputation, and we use each interaction with one another and with our customers to strengthen that bond and carefully cultivate our relationships.
WE SAY “YES” BECAUSE WE CAN.
Porchlight is a small business with big capabilities, and our agility is what distinguishes us from other booksellers. We say “no” to unnecessary bureaucracy and “yes” to a collaborative, lean, can-do spirit. Our flexibility allows us to re-calibrate our operations quickly responsively, taking on new challenges that our competitors can’t do with the same personal attention.
WE WORK HARD, PLAY NICE, AND HAVE FUN.
We believe in honest hard work, for the good of our employees, customers, publishers, authors, and other agencies that depend on Porchlight for service, information, and opinion. We love our work, we take it very seriously, and we have fun doing it––and hope to transmit that enthusiasm to you, our customers.
WE ARE A HUMAN COMPANY.
As such, we are not governed by any algorithm, but by the collective experience and wisdom attained by 35 years as a bulk book service company. We sell what serves our customers, and we promote what engages our staff. Our humanity is what keeps us Porchlight.
The real value of the book is that it allows people to change and develop, making us who we are—probers and critics, experts and enthusiasts.
How can we help?
Our expert Customer Service team is happy to answer your questions.