For the past 20 years and 9 months my mother has worked in a small
town independent bookstore in Iowa. This week her boss let her know
that she would be closing the store on September 1st so my mother
will be jobless for the first time in 35 years. Her boss is so sad
that she can't face people in the town and their questions. In this
age of Amazon.com, books in the grocery stores, and mega-huge
bookstores, this was an independent store that specialized in
"special orders" for customers. Many times my mother delivered books
to shut-ins and nursing homes. She would wrap all books in fancy
gift-wrapping upon request and advised the local school of new
titles. The personal touches cannot be replaced by big chains. If
anyone is looking for a wonderful small town to relocate to, let me
know and I'll give you their phone number. I hate the thought of this
last bastion of independent services disappearing. The nearest
bookstore will be 65 miles and 3 counties away. There will be no
place for the idol browser to meander the aisles and find some new treasure.
Perhaps I need to go watch "You've Got Mail" again and bemoan change.
In this day and age of school libraries closing, I am saddened to see
a bookstore join the endangered list.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Diane R. Chen, Library Information Specialist
Hickman Elementary, 112 Stewart's Ferry Pike
Nashville, TN 37214 TEL: 615 884-4026
Personal Email: DianeRChen@comcast.net
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