Financial Struggles and Notable Closures
Since the rise of big chains and online booksellers, independent bookstores have been under considerable financial pressure and many have closed due to their inability to compete. This phenomenon is reflected in the 1998 film You've Got Mail, which explores the difficulties faced by an independent bookseller competing with a large corporate bookstore.
Notable closures include Kroch's and Brentano's(1995) in Chicago, Gotham Book Mart(2006) in New York, Cody's Books (2008) in Berkeley, Printers Inc. Bookstore (2001) in Palo Alto, A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books (2006) in San Francisco, Midnight Special (2004) in Santa Monica, Dutton’s Brentwood Books (2008) in Los Angeles, Coliseum Books (2007) in New York City and Wordsworth Books (2004) in Cambridge, MA,.
In some cases, the community became involved and prevented an independent bookstore from closing. A notable example is Kepler's Books in Menlo Park, California. Kepler's closed its doors on August 31, 2005. The local community held demonstrations to protest the closing. Kepler's subsequently re-opened in October 2005 with community investments, volunteers and donations. A similar attempt was made with Printers Inc. Bookstore in 1998. In December, Printers Inc. announced that it would be closing. The local community protested the closing and in March 1999 Printers Inc. found new management. This management only lasted a few years, however, and in 2001 Printers Inc. Bookstore closed for good.
Read more about this topic: Independent Bookstore
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