At a time when you seem to hear about more and more books being banned from libraries, you might be surprised to know there has actually been an increase in the number of independent bookstores in this country in the last few years.

But in Ellenville, you'd have to drive more than half an hour in either direction to hit one, either Inquiring Minds in New Paltz, or One Grand Books in Narrowsburg – which has had an annex shelf in Ellenville’s Everything Nice record store in Ellenville – but not a full store.

Entrepreneur Matthew Goldman hopes to change that. He’s completing work on a bookstore and cafe, smack in the middle of downtown Ellenville, at 119 Canal St. He's definitely drawn inspiration from the relaxed, curated vibe of Inquiring Minds and One Grand Books, as well as Rough Draft Bar and Books in Kingston. The goal is a space where people can come in, relax with a cup of coffee and their laptop, and potentially engage with others while they are there. Or not – there are no rules about making friends. There will also be a bar and event space, in an effort to make use of the space beyond what a standard café can offer.

Goldman, 41, worked for five years as a musician in a couple of rock bands. He started a punk band called Random Task while in high school, and then from 2002-2006 played guitar for the indie rock band Steel Train, which played at Bonnaroo and on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Between the two bands he was fortunate enough to tour the world.

"Music was the first vehicle that I thought could change the world,” he says of his time on the road. “Communicating with people around art could change the world, that you can create lasting bonds, not just with your bandmates, but with your listening audience."

After music, he became a high school teacher and an administrator in Brooklyn for fourteen years. One summer, when he was coaching a girls' basketball team, and he was helping one of the girls with their homework on the back of a bus, a realization clicked into place.

"Something that I'd been chasing through music might be possible through history,” he recalls realizing, “through books, through education. As an artist, as a musician, I was hungry to make a difference, to try to leave the world a little bit better than I found it. But it wasn't ultimately music for me that did it. It really was education, which was the pathway to this store."

A grandson of Polish Holocaust survivors, he grew up in West Caldwell, New Jersey, but attended Kutsher's Sports Academy in Monticello in the summer. He never shook the love of the Catskills, and wanted space to open a bookstore, so he and his wife Erica, an attorney, eventually moved to Ellenville with their two kids.

Matthew eagerly pulls off books from the newly stocked shelves to show off some titles. One is a history book by Gerda Lerner about the Grimke sisters, the daughters of wealthy South Carolina slaveholders, who turned their back on slavery and became advocates for abolition and women’s rights in the 19^th century. He wants people to know these little known but very important American stories.

He believes that most of the books he has chosen for the history section, "are truly life-changing.” He wants his books to “change the way we see the world."

If this seems idealistic, he’s copped to “a mildly unhealthy relationship” with history. He loves it so much, he explains, the study of it used to devour all of his time. He needed to create space for other things. That's the thought process that led him to the idea of The Common Good, where study becomes a way to interact.

The Common Good includes a children's room, and he hopes to host events and readings and invites the community to contribute in the space. He says his former career working with students and teachers is very important to the mission of this space. Because of his devotion to education, he offers a 10 percent discount for teachers on all regularly priced merchandise.

The café sources its coffee from a roaster that's been around since 1916, and this reporter can confirm the quality. Ellie, the bar manager, promises to concoct some creative, rotating seasonal cocktails.

The other two staffers are poet, short story author and former English teacher Beatrice Wedd Symcox, and post-grad student Dakota Rose. They each have their own unique visions of literacy forward initiatives; Beatrice reviews books on Instagram (her handle is @Beatriceandthebook), and Dakota will be offering programs of literature for youth and adults alike.

"Everyone's been incredibly supportive, the village itself, folks on the town council," Goldman said of Ellenville. He chose the name, The Common Good, because, he says, "it's an allusion to something that used to be very common, a belief that we're better off when we come together, that there is something called ‘the common good’ that is worth pursuing. This is all an attempt to kind of recapture a bit of that.”

The Common Good opens Thursday, October 24. They are open Wednesday and Thursday 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.