To people who've been following the chain's downfall since declaring bankruptcy in February, it comes as no shock. The popularity of e-readers makes buying books as easy and immediate as downloading music, and Borders didn't shift with the times. I don't fault online retailers like Amazon for taking advantage of a service that's growing quickly and getting books into people's hands (or readers) in locations where there might not be a superstore. This is a good thing as long as you can afford a Kindle. But the inevitable reality is a lot of people are going to lose jobs, and not just Border's employees. I also wonder what the store's demise means for authors and publishers. Rachel Syme for NPR:
Borders going under means that hundreds of people beyond its own employees will lose jobs. Because it was one of the top booksellers in the country, publishing houses had entire departments dedicated to working with Borders and its sales teams. It also means that suddenly, publishers have lost a major thoroughfare for book sales, one of their biggest. An entire arm of book sales has been amputated.I've been reading some of the reactions to the store's closing, which range from general apathy to "Good. Buy Indie!!!" Well, that's not so easy to do if you live in a town without a lot of independent bookstores. Although I live in a mid-sized city, the ubiquity of Borders was a plus and their selection and prices were often better. I don't have a lot of romantic notions about mom-and-pop bookstores when they simply aren't a reality for a lot of people. I truly am sad to see Borders go -- for me browsing for books online hardly takes the place of a lazy Saturday afternoon in a bookstore.
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