The news of the closing of our local Borders bookstore should come as no surprise to any of us. We watched as Borders closed the other stores in Connecticut, in an attempt to stave off creditors. The economic downturn, the rise of the 'e-reader' and other electronic media, and the overall decline in reading in our nation (save for the devotees of Ms. Rowling...) have all contributed to this unfortunate event.
I suppose I should not point out the obvious schadenfreude in watching a 'big-box' bookstore close its doors. The very business that has driven small, local booksellers out of business is now a victim of poor business planning, and the economic juggernaut that is Amazon. Countless small local booksellers have closed; others struggle on. Perhaps we ought to pay attention to the comments of those who will miss Borders. It is not the books they will miss; they certainly can purchase them elsewhere. It was the sense of community, the cafe, the events that will be missed.
Its unfortunate. One hopes that the mall management, and the city planners will encourage another bookstore to take up residence at the mall. Maybe we could even convince the city to open a branch of Meriden Public Library at the mall? Imagine the foot traffic! What about a hybrid of bookstore/cafe/public space and library? Meriden has an opportunity to come up with a creative solution here. Let's see what happens.
