Stran Bookstore is an independent bookstore located in New York City's Greenwich Village. It was founded in 1927 by Benjamin Bass. The store is famous among New Yorkers for its giant collection of publishers overstock, used, rare, and out-of-print books, as well as the chaos on and around its shelves. The store houses the city's largest collection of rare books, and is also a contender for the title of world's largest used bookstore (its major competitor in this regard being Powell's Books of Portland, Oregon). "18 Miles of Books" is its (present) slogan. Fred and Benjamin Bass gave jobs in the store to many Lower East Side artists, including Patti Smith (who claimed not to have liked the experience because it "wasn't very friendly") and Tom Verlaine, both rock artists of the 70's.