The Learned Owl

Specialties

Books, cards, stationary, and personal recommendations.

History

Established in 1968.

In 1968, Hudson resident Jean Isabel and her husband Bob founded the shop, along with a partner. At the time, The Learned Owl was only in what is now the «Children’s Room», where kids’ books and paperback fiction live today. During the early 1970s, the store was owned by Joan McCook. (That’s Joan’s daughter in the 1974 photo.) When Hudson resident Rosemary Burner Jones purchased the store in the mid-​70s, she expanded the bookstore into both sides of the main floor, more than doubling its size.

On October 15, 1983, Liz Murphy and Elaine Ober purchased the shop from the Burners, and Murphy became sole proprietor in 1990. This month marks her 25^th year on Main Street. In the past 25 years, the shop has grown from 1500 square feet at street level with one phone, a cash register, two employees, open six days a week, to 2300 square feet (on three floors), five networked computers, four phone lines, a web page, email, a fax, 21 staff members, open seven days a week and six evenings.