AUBURN, Mass. - Two educators behind a new bookstore that recently opened in Auburn hope it will become a learning space outside of the traditional classroom.

The husband and wife team of Tyler and Courtney Galicia launched A Great Notion on Southbridge Street in February, applying the advice that Courtney Galicia said she would give to students she worked with as a school counselor.

“Is there ever a good time?” she said. “As a school counselor I always told my kids, there’s never going to be the right time to do something hard.”

Courtney Galicia, 29, who is originally from West Brookfield, and Tyler Galicia, 33, an Auburn native, both started out working in education – she as an applied behavioral assistant for special needs students and he as an instructional assistant for children who had specialized learning plans.

“We really started with the most special group of all,” Courtney Galicia said. “I think that a lot of our love comes from those very early on experiences where we got to work with such amazing people.”

Galicia, who now works full time as the manager of the bookstore, said she wants to reach outside the structure that comes with working in a school. Tyler Galicia is an English teacher at Uxbridge High School.

“In schools, you know, as a school counselor, I’m limited to 10, 15, 20 minutes with a student,” she said. “At times it, you know, it takes more than that. I’m not necessarily doing counseling here of course, but I do think there are ways to reach kids when they are in an environment such as this.”

Galicia said the store offers after-school book clubs aimed at helping children better understand themselves.

“I plan to do so many things social skills-wise here, or just getting in touch with your feelings, doing some social emotional learning, some mindfulness, some gratitude, all those sort of things built into a regular book club,” she said. “You take one character and you can talk about every facet of that character’s life, or how they're feeling or how they're interpreting a certain situation, and how you would feel.”

A Great Notion is more than just a bookstore for the Galicias. Not only do they see it as part of their family, but it’s also a way for dealing with the hard moments in life. After losing her mom two years ago from a rare cancer, Courtney Galicia has found ways to keep her mom’s spirit alive at the store by incorporating sunflowers, a favorite of her mom’s, into the store’s decoration.

A Great Notion was also a community effort. Half of the books they sell were donated by the community.

“I think the question at the beginning was always, ‘How do we get the books?’” Courtney Galicia said. “Where do we get our hands on thousands of books? The community really showed up. We like to call them previously loved, and we like to find them new homes.”

Small bookstores are always facing competition from big chains and distributors, Galicia said feels there is something special about an independent, community-oriented bookstore that people can’t get by searching online.

“I think that there's nothing like a quaint little bookstore,” she said. “I think people have been craving something that’s more personalized. You never know what you’re going to find here.”