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Tuesday, July 19, was an ordinary day in the National City Borders store. Customers at the Westfield Plaza Bonita location were browsing, studying, and drinking coffee. When asked, few people realized that the Borders chain had gone into bankruptcy and that all the stores will soon be shutting their doors.

I asked the manager of the bookstore how many people would lose their jobs and how she thought the closure of Borders would affect the book industry. The manager could only confirm that the store was closing; as for the date of closure and the number of people who will lose their jobs, she said she had been directed not to speak to the press.

National Public Radio has reported that 399 stores will close nationwide and 10,700 people will lose their jobs. Publishers have also said fewer books will be printed due to less bookshelf space.

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Comments

Susan Luzzaro July 20, 2011 @ 11:03 p.m.

You're right Pancho, no es bueno. There will be a ripple effect in a number of ways in the economy as well as for the reading public. I interviewed a lovely woman outside the store who said she didn't want to have to order her books online, she wanted to go to the store, handle them, read their book jackets...pick up random books...

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Javajoe25 July 21, 2011 @ 11:57 a.m.

It's always sad to hear of a bookstore closing, but Borders I can understand. The browsing was terrific, but the buying was downright painful. $26.00 for a novel? Especially when you consider you can probably get the book from the library in a few weeks. In today's economy the posh bookstore formula no longer works. Lots of people liked browsing there, but they went someplace else to eat. Like I said, sad, but no real surprise.

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VigilantinCV July 21, 2011 @ 2:10 p.m.

I AM NOT SURPRISED BUT I AM DEEPLY SADDENED. The smell of a bookstore, the thrill of holding a book and buying it so you could read it and then loan it to a friend you can't get that online. In the good old days..........

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Susan Luzzaro July 21, 2011 @ 10:08 p.m.

Java, I think you're right about the expense of the books. And for many, it's ironic, to be saddened by the loss of a chain as opposed to an independent bookstore. As you say, many just browsed in Borders. Still, the location at the entrance to the mall in National City invited people to look at books and magazines and that was a good thing. So....

0

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