A beloved, 30-year-old bookstore is looking for a new owner.

Roberta Rubin, owner of The Book Stall at Chestnut Court, confirmed on Monday afternoon that she is looking for someone else to take charge.

"It's getting to be that time," she said. "I'm looking for an exit strategy, and this sort of thing requires due process. It's not going to happen overnight."

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It's been quite a year for the Winnetka bookstore, recently named Publishers Weekly 2012 Bookstore of the Year. The 74-year-old owner also expects a 30 percent uptick in sales this year.

"We're not going to close tomorrow," said Rubin, alleviating potential fears of the store's shuttering soon. "If someone is interested, we'd like to talk."

Related: The Book Stall's Roberta Rubin Shares Secrets of Hospitality

The success of Rubin's bookstore rests on a simple equation: Be hospitable to books, people and life circumstances.

"We are one of the bookstores that really hand-sells," she explained. "We're not worried about market share, we're not worried about our presence in the world. We're worried about selling one book to one customer, and one at a time. I think that's why we've survived.

According to Rubin, the consistent pursuit of learning is the quintessential take-home message of books and of her store.

"The printed word is where you live life, where you grow as a human being, and where you have a sense of generosity to human beings, to the world itself," she said.

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