Following the collapse of Borders late last week, local media scrambled for reactions from independent booksellers in their regions. If reporters were hoping for some indie gloating, they may have been a little disappointed. Here's a sampling:
"I think it's very sad to see such a store close up shop. I mean we all do compete, but we are all also in it for the future of books. Borders always had a great local neighborhood feel for a big box store. They were always helpful and they were always supportive. We may see a few more customers come our way because they have fewer options... but in the long run the fewer options really is a sad thing." --Christine Kelly, Sundance Books and Music, Reno, Nev., on KTVN.
"The main thing we think about is this is an opportunity to listen to Borders' customers, listen to where we need to improve. Borders had a lot of customers. Part of the reason is we hadn't reached them, swayed them. We need to have our ears and eyes open.... We're going to expand more quickly into books across our company. And we're going to hire some of the Borders employees, too." --Brett Wickard, Maine's 10-store Bull Moose chain, in the Bangor Daily News.
"Fifteen years ago, I might have been angry about the big bookstores. But now, the Goliath is Amazon.... New York's so well served with bookstores--there's a graver effect in places where customers don't have alternatives." --David Moran, Shakespeare & Co., New York City, in the Village Voice.
"It makes me sad that they’re closing because of what it says. I hope it's not a dying business. But we're going to wait and see." --Pat Banning, BookEnds, Kailua, Hawaii, on KITV.
"I think everybody is worried to a degree. I think what independent bookstores have to do going forward is identify their niche and figure out what they can provide to customers that they can't get elsewhere." --Alex Papoulis, Books Inc., Mountain View, Calif., in the Mountain View Patch.
"When we had eight superstores, super bookstores, open within a five-mile radius of us in the early '90s, we compared ourselves to a tugboat as opposed to an oceanliner--in that these mega-chains, to make a change, have to turn about quite slowly, whereas we're the little tugboat that can sort of reinvent, focus, be nimble and keep reinventing ourselves as needed to serve our customers and our community." --Dana Brigham, Brookline Booksmith, Brookline, Mass., on WBUR.
"The bookstores that will stick around are the ones that are going to be nimble and adapt quickly. Small independent bookstores are starting to have a resurgence, especially in places like Lititz, where it's a walking town and where people like coming in and browsing." --Sam Droke-Dickinson, Aaron's Books, Lititz, Pa., in the York Daily Record.
"We also think there is something of a trend away from big box retailing generally and that the small is beautiful concept and specialized more focused stores like ourselves are going to have some benefits from this trend." --Scott Monaghan, Barking Dog Books and Art, Marietta, Ohio, on WTAP.
"My first reaction was, 'Hell, yes!' finally one of the big bad monsters that I have constantly been worried about has had its head cut off! Lemuria has survived the Borders Beast!!! My job has survived the Borders Beast! My second reaction was to empathize with the employees of this company. Now I admit that I don't consider all big box store employees booksellers but I can recognize the concern one feels about not knowing if your job is going to be around for long. That is a fear that independent bookstore owners and employees have been dealing with for years." --Maggie Lowery, Lemuria Bookstore, Jackson, Miss., on the store's blog.