Guest Post: On the Closing of Borders Books

When I heard about Borders Books closing, I felt sad. Although I am an advocate for independent bookstores, the closing of any bookstores, and especially so many throughout the country, is a huge loss. There is also the Ann Arbor connection; as a former resident of the Ann Arbor area, I feel a sentimental stake in Borders. But I haven't lived in Michigan for many years, so I asked my friend Mary, who has lived in Ann Arbor most of her adult life, to write a guest post about the closing of Borders, and she kindly agreed. (Mary is the one who suggested my starting this blog back in January 2010, and who generously contributed other guest posts on 3/7/11 and 4/15/11.) Her post is below.

Mary's guest post:

Borders is closing, and it makes me sad. It's true that for a long time it has not been the charming, stimulating, delightfully literary haven it was when I first shopped there. I moved to Ann Arbor in 1973, and at that time there was a tiny Borders, overflowing with used books, with artsy posters covering the walls. A couple of years later it was moved across State Street, into a big rambling space, with lots of dark wood shelves, nooks and crannies, and a steep staircase leading to a mezzanine filled with many more books, as well as some of those artsy posters. Here and there were built-in wooden benches -- the first time I had encountered seating in a bookstore.

Tom Borders, one of two brothers who started the store, created a computerized inventory system which was innovative at the time. Ironic, considering the computer was eventually the downfall of the chain now called Borders. But that is now. Then was a different story.

Borders, then, was a place to go and browse, and read, and buy, but also to learn things. Its inventory was not stocked with a hundred copies of every best seller, but rather with seemingly every book on every subject imaginable. And if you couldn't find what you wanted, there was always someone there who would help you, and probably teach you something too. There were employees who were experts in each subject area, but every employee was well-read and well-trained. Apparently there was a daunting test that prospective employees had to pass, covering all manner of literary topics. Many of the employees had advanced degrees, and the longtime manager there was so knowledgeable that he was revered in a town full of scholars.

I stopped by one of Borders' "superstores" this evening (10% off everything -- the liquidation has begun). It is a lot different than the original store. There are toys, CDs, DVDs, and a huge section of cards and novelty items. There are no experts waiting to teach me things. The Borders I remember has been gone for a long time. But as I browsed the store one last time, I felt sad to lose even this version. I miss my hometown bookstore.