The Mold Bookshop celebrates 45 years on the town's High Street

Caroline Johnson can hardly believe how quickly the years have gone. The Mold Bookshop, on the town's Upper High Street, first opened in 1981, and she has been part of the business since the very beginning.

"It's amazing. Absolutely amazing. I just can't believe that it's been 45 years," she said. "When we opened the shop, I always hoped that the shop would keep going on forever, but whether it was going to be with me or not, I didn't know."

The shop began in a tiny unit near The Cross as a children's bookshop, with Caroline joining as manager after working as a children's book buyer in Chester. As demand grew it added adult books and maps. In 1987 Caroline and her husband, who also worked in the book trade, bought the business, and they moved to the current premises in 1993, which allowed a bigger children's section and more choice.

Over the decades the shop has adapted to the internet, online shopping and competition from supermarkets and larger retailers, moving from paper and microfilm to new technology and social media. But Caroline believes its secret has always been its customers.

"Some of them used to be in school when we started, and they're coming in now with their own children," she said. "I've known a lot of my customers for 40 years, and they'll come in with photographs of weddings or photographs of their grandchildren. It's that personal service, which isn't just business, but it's personal as well."

Recommending books remains one of her favourite parts of the job. "When they come back and say, 'Thank you for your recommendation, I really loved it', that gives you a really big buzz."

The shop stocks a large range of books for all ages, and if a title is not on the shelves it offers a speedy next-day ordering service, subject to availability. Readers who prefer to listen can also support the shop by buying audiobooks through Libro.fm.

To mark the milestone, the shop welcomed customers old and new to an anniversary celebration with refreshments and memories.

The Mold Bookshop is on Upper High Street, Mold. Drop in, or call ahead to order a book.