Builders Booksource

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1817 4th St
Berkeley, CA 94710
George and Sally Kiskaddon opened builders BOOKSOURCE in 1982. George's background had been construction management, real estate, while Sally's was people management, education and literature. Before opening the store they found that it was nearly impossible to find books and resources regarding the construction and design trades--whether for themselves at home, or for their professional lives. Their idea was to create a central location in which to find books, reference materials and software ( we have in-store software demos ) for home builders, architects, contractors, do-it-yourselfers, and consumers. One used to be forced to make myriad trips to bookstores and government publishing offices to find necessary information. Now it can be found under one roof-- It goes beyond selling books, though. Not long ago a contractor came in with a question about design for which we had no book. Another customer at the counter, an architect, was able to answer the question-- their conversation lasted about twenty minutes. It was not a chance meeting: we want to bring both sides of building together. Facilitate connections. We are hoping that this next phase of the store's development will build upon past successes. It seems right-- hypertext and the WWW. Will it work as well as conversations at the counter? Raison d'Etre It is a fact that "Good Design" cannot exist without "Good Construction" and we don't get much argument that "Good Construction" without "Good Design" is equally pointless.

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Reviews

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4.579 reviews
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Makena L.
4/27/2025

Really cute, small local bookstore. I really enjoyed the wide selection of books - ranged from indigenous stories to Japanese garden photography to existential philosophical books. Spent about 30...

J P.
8/4/2025

Didn't know they specialized in "building type" stuff (architecture, remodelling, maps and arts and crafts), I was just walking by one day, saw they had cards and popped in. I like sending...

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Jay F.
3/15/2025

Wife and I visit when we have breakfast around the corner. Always a nice selection of cards and books. We have a couple of original paintings at home from here too and some prints, though sadly...

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Meg T.
12/21/2021

The honey and I love to drop into Builders Booksource. While we mainly shop the puzzle books (we loved the maze book and Mazey the dog), the tiny house and building/ renovation books are fun to...

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Karen P.
1/17/2022

I love this bookstore! I came a bit early to my Apple Genius Bar appointment next door so came here to kill time. I was almost late to my appointment because I was so distracted here! As someone...

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