Still in the grip of a virus, so repeating a column from March 2011
About
a decade ago, Borders announced that it was planning to open a bookstore
downtown. A lot of people were worried that it would put locally owned Bookshop
Santa Cruz out of business, and for a couple of months it seemed like the only
story in town.
At
the time, I had been doing public relations for The Home Depot, which also
wanted to put a store in our community, and which was also opposed in part by
people who felt that it would put locally owned hardware stores and lumber
yards out of business.
Based
on what I had learned on the Home Depot campaign, I didn’t feel the local
bookstore was in grave danger, provided it responded to the competition and
made a few prudent adjustments. In fact, I recall having a conversation with my
best friend in which I argued that the real problem for Bookshop Santa Cruz
wasn’t Borders; it was Amazon.com and the internet in general.
Those
memories came flooding back this past week as I visited Borders to pick up a
few discounted mysteries at their going-out-of-business sale. The Santa Cruz
store was one of many being closed because of troubles having to do with
failure to compete with Amazon.com and the internet, in the form of digital
books. Bookshop Santa Cruz is still in business.
I’m
happy for Bookshop Santa Cruz, but sorry to see Borders go. For those of us who
love books, it’s never a good thing to lose a bookstore, even if it’s one of
the big chains with not much local connection. Show me a town with more than
one bookstore, and I’ll show you a good town.
When
Borders came to Santa Cruz, it did not, as many feared, stick a siphon into the
local store and begin sucking out money. Instead, it created a dynamic that
made the downtown more appealing and vibrant.
With
the two largest bookstores in the county separated by only a couple of blocks,
and with two used bookstores also within easy walking distance, Santa Cruz was
the clear destination point for book lovers.
The
presence of the two big stores made it worth a trip to town just to see what
was new and to browse. If you were looking for a certain type of book but
didn’t know exactly what, you could compare between the two stores. Any time we
were planning a trip, it was great to check out the two travel sections and
pick the best guidebook or two from between them.
If
I was looking for a specific book, it was great to have two options. Generally,
I would go to Bookshop Santa Cruz first, and if they had it, I’d buy there to
support the local business. If not, I’d go down to Borders and get it if they
had it, which they nearly always did.
One
thing I learned from checking both places was that there seemed to be no truth
to the argument, often advanced by the anti-chain advocates, that chain stores
stint on serious titles. Over the years there were a number of times when I was
searching for a serious novel or nonfiction book and found it at Borders after
Bookshop Santa Cruz said sorry.
And
now there is one new-book bookstore in town. I’m happy that Bookshop Santa Cruz
is still around and seemingly doing well, but something tells me they’ve merely
won the first and easiest skirmish. Best of luck to them in the more serious
battles to come.
