Anita’s Half & Half

Anita’s Half & Half is a used bookstore tucked into a shared storefront on Baldwin Avenue in historic downtown DeFuniak Springs, a few steps from the shops circling Lake DeFuniak. The store operates through Friends of the Library, and proceeds from every book sale go directly to support the DeFuniak Springs Library. That library, more commonly known as the Walton-DeFuniak Library, sits nearby at 3 Circle Drive on the lake and is often cited as the oldest continuously operating library in Florida, tracing back to 1886 and 1887. Its collection tops 25,000 volumes and includes an unusual antique arms and armor collection, so browsing the shelves at Anita’s Half & Half is also a small way of supporting a genuinely unusual local institution.

Inside, the inventory leans toward a wide mix of genres rather than any single specialty, and the selection changes often as donated and traded books rotate through. Past visitors describe shelves covering everything from popular fiction to older, harder-to-find titles, plus a side selection of hand-painted teacups and teapots that gives the space some of the charm of an old-fashioned parlor alongside the bookshelves. Because turnover is constant, regular visitors tend to check back on repeat trips to DeFuniak Springs rather than assume the shelves will look the same twice.

Anita’s Half & Half shares its building with the DeFuniak Springs Art Co-Op, so a visit here doubles easily as a stop to see original paintings, pottery, and other work from local Walton County artists in the same space. The pairing makes the Baldwin Avenue storefront one of the more efficient stops downtown for travelers who want both books and local art without adding a second location to the day’s itinerary. It also means a single stop can fill an easy half hour or more, longer if you get pulled into conversation with the volunteers running the register. The shop is also listed as a merchant with Main Street DeFuniak Springs, the local organization that works to keep downtown’s historic storefronts occupied and active, which fits with how Anita’s Half & Half functions: a nonprofit-adjacent shop that channels its earnings straight back into a community institution rather than a private owner.

The shop keeps a modest schedule built around volunteer staffing, open Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with Sunday and Monday closed. Because Friends of the Library volunteers staff the counter, hours can occasionally shift around holidays, so it is worth calling 850-520-4590 ahead of a special trip.

For anyone spending an afternoon around Lake DeFuniak and the Circle Drive Historic District, Anita’s Half & Half is an easy add-on. It costs nothing to browse, supports a piece of local history every time a book changes hands, and sits close enough to downtown’s other stops that it barely adds any time to a walking tour. Pick up a paperback for the beach, a teacup as a small souvenir, or just spend a few minutes exploring the shelves before continuing on to the Art Co-Op next door or the lakefront just beyond it. Travelers coming inland from the Emerald Coast beaches for the day can easily fold this stop into a broader downtown loop that takes in the lake, the historic district, and DeFuniak Springs’ handful of other small, locally run shops.