Bart's Books, Outdoor bookstore in Ojai, United States.

Bart's Books is a bookstore in Ojai, California, holding over 100,000 used books arranged by room. Its outdoor section has shelves facing the street, surrounded by plants, and customers pay via a coin box when the store is closed.

Richard Bartindale, born in Oxford, Indiana, in 1917, served as a World War II navigator in the U.S. Navy Reserve. After the war he travelled Europe and in Paris was inspired by the open-air bouquinistes along the Seine. He founded Bart's Books in 1964; in the late 1960s ownership passed to former landscaper Gary Schlichter.

The bookstore holds rare volumes, out-of-print editions, and current publications that draw readers with varied interests and backgrounds. This mix shows how books bring together people looking for different kinds of stories and knowledge.

Visitors can buy books outside regular hours by depositing money into collection boxes near the street-facing outdoor shelves. This flexibility allows purchases at almost any time of day.

A 300-year-old oak grew inside the store itself, not merely on the property, and was removed after it fell into the street. The tree stood among the shelves, so books and branches shared the same space until its collapse.