People helping to carry book stands (6)
I believe the answer is:
abides
'stands' is the definition.
('abide' can be a synonym of 'stand')
'people helping to carry book' is the wordplay.
'people helping' becomes 'aides'.
'to carry' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'book' becomes 'b'.
'aides' enclosing 'b' is 'ABIDES'.
(Other definitions for abides that I've seen before include "bears" , "Dwells or endures" , "Continues without fading or being lost, memory perhaps" , "Acts in accordance with rules" , "Dwells or tolerate" .)