Stacey’s Bookstore Closes
Stacey’s Bookstore announced that it will be closing in March after 85 years in business. This is sad news to anyone who cherishes independent bookstores and to San Francisco readers in particular. The SFGate has all the details.
The San Francisco area has seen a number of independent bookstores close in the last few years. Stacey’s follows Cody’s Books and Black Oak Books in particular. Both were excellent stores and Cody’s in particular was another long-time fixture. In my own neighborhood both Diablo Books and Bonanza Street Books closed their doors in the last few years. (Readers, please use the comments section to detail any other Bay Area bookstore closings in the last 3 to 5 years.)
I try to think about how books may find a wider audience through the Internet and through new social reading sites that allow exploration and discovery as you might find in a physical bookstore. It’s still unsettling to see these stores disappear from the landscape. It feels like a society that doesn’t value literature.
The continuing difficulties for Barnes & Noble and the prospect of Borders Books going out of business perpetuate the impression that books are not as valued as they once were in America. The new booksellers extraordinaire are Costco, Target and Walmart. And while I am happy to have books and literature of any sort survive, these retailers are not stocking a broad range or diverse selection of titles.
It’s at times like these that I’m proud to have worked at Alibris for 3 years, helping independent booksellers survive, and more importantly, keeping the long-tail of books in circulation. Aggregators like Alibris, Abebooks and Biblio, online store providers like Bibliopolis, as well as social reading sites like LibraryThing, Goodreads and Shelfari should be looked upon as the ‘keepers of the flame’ so to speak.
Because the homogenization of books is a scary prospect.
January 12th, 2009 at 2:48 am
Independent bookstores must learn to adapt to the new business environment. Stores that do not think 5,10, and 15 years down the road will fail. Too many stores are blaming Amazon and Big Box Retailers for their problems and not focusing on their own faults. Give a reason for people to come to your store. Give them an experience in browsing. Encourage and foster author events and engage the local community. Cody’s would still be around if they had not opened up a store in downtown San Francisco across from the Apple store. What were they thinking?
January 15th, 2009 at 9:17 am
Jacob,
In many ways I don’t disagree. Many of these stores have been slow to adapt to the Internet and don’t actively sell online. Many Independent bookstores could remain in business if they supplemented their offline sales with online sales.
In other ways I think it remains difficult. Offering coffee and a reading section is potentially expensive and many stores simply don’t have the footprint to afford to do something of that nature.
Authors aren’t going to stop by the small shops (not enough bang for the buck), and Cody’s (a larger shop for sure) had fantastic author events but still went under. Cody’s, however, didn’t change to meet the demand of new customers which is what really sent it under.
You bring up the prime point which is the ability to browse. The problem, I believe, is that people have less and less time in which to browse.
US Leisure Time Plummets
So, with so little time, browsing just doesn’t cut it and … unfortunately reading might not either.
January 15th, 2009 at 9:34 am
It is quite sad to see another independent bookstore going under. I find myself gravitating to internet trading for used books, but even then I prefer sites that encourage “browsing” like www.bookins.com. I just miss bumping shoulders with other browsers when shifting categories!
June 4th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Stacey’s did all that “give people a reason to come into your store” stuff. They stocked a tremendous variety of items. What really did them in as far as I can gather was landlord greed. So that space will sit empty along with all the other overpriced empty commercial space in downtown SF.