The American Spectator : Borders, RIP?

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Borders, RIP?

By G. Tracy Mehan, III on 2.14.11 @ 6:06AM

A sad turn of events for bibliophiles.

"Just because we followed Greece into democracy does not mean we need to follow them into bankruptcy," said Minnesota Governor Tom Pawlenty, a GOP presidential hopeful in Washington this week for the Conservative Political Action Conference.

Unfortunately, Borders Group, Inc., the ailing Ann Arbor, Michigan, bookseller is unlikely to avoid the fate of the land of Homer. The company will be filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy-protection. It may have already done so by the time this article is posted.

The rise and fall of this safe haven for bibliophiles began in 1971 when Tom and Louis Borders, brothers, opened a modest bookstore in Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan. By the time I moved to Michigan in 1993, the store was an incredible institution with as diverse and substantial an inventory as one could imagine. With the advantage of a very literate, educated market, combined with sophisticated marketing, it was a book lover's Paradise. Its music selections were unmatched anywhere.

Whenever I visited Ann Arbor, I used to test the booksellers at the Ann Arbor flagship store, often requesting some obscure title on history, literature, philosophy or politics. Invariably, they found the book in stock, available for purchase. Not exactly just-in-time inventory management, but so much the better for the bookish customer.

Truth be told, I spent a lot of money at Borders over the years, even signing up for the Rewards card in recent years-just another rationalization to buy books based on the supposed "savings" of buying more books than you have time read so you can buy even more books than you need. But we are talking wants here, not needs.

Eventually, Borders, as with other bookstores, introduced coffee shops with comfortable seating and tables. This allowed me to comb through the book racks and the magazines, piling up many volumes, journals and publications to read through for, oh, an hour or two, while sipping a cup of hot or iced coffee depending on the season. Then I would make the final cut as to what books or magazines I would buy, return the remainder to the racks, and saunter to the counter to make my purchases. There was (is?) no better way to spend a late Saturday afternoon. Naturally, I would be sure to turn off my cell phone while in the temple.

Alas, the demise of a large reading public, the rise of electronic readers, the success of Amazon.com, and, it appears, financial missteps have brought Borders to this sorry state.

My sister is a sales and marketing rep on the West Coast for a major New York publishing company. Her personal and professional focus is on truly independent bookstores which she correctly views as more concerned and interested in books and readers than on simply sales and marketing.

These venerable establishments are a vanishing breed. One thinks of the Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle, a legendary bookseller; the Tattered Cover in Denver; or Left Bank Books in the Central West End of my hometown, St. Louis.

Many of the staff working in these stores are Lefties. But they know their books; and, good liberals all, really try hard to be of service to the customer. While in college I worked for a political consultant during the summer. He would often send me out to the old Book Nook in Clayton, Missouri, the county seat of St. Louis County, to pick up his many and large orders of books. He had an account there, was an amazing reader and a valued customer. The old woman who ran the store (her name escapes after so many years) was the only card-carrying Communist I ever met growing up in the Midwest. Despite my strong antipathy to that wretched ideology, she delighted me with her knowledge of books, authors, and literature of all kinds. She was a character right out of a novel.

So now I live in the wilds of the Washington suburbs with only chain bookstores, and a few solid used bookstores, making more and more of my purchases on line, which, I admit, can be a real convenience if you know what you want. But that is the point of a bookstore or a library: you find things you did not know you wanted or, perchance, needed. I have heard this experience described as serendipitous, i.e., in the nature of "a seeming gift for finding good things accidentally," according to my dictionary.

To the credit of Borders, they managed to preserve some semblance of the independent bookstore in their stores, until recently at least, carrying a varied and rich selection of books and hiring staff who seemed knowledgeable.

It was the mass marketing stuff with which they seemed to have had problems. I found it a disturbing trend, though, when Borders started erecting prominent displays of books and other paraphernalia about teenage vampires in love. In truth, maybe reading, truly reading, deeply and seriously, and mass marketing, are mutually exclusive propositions.

Here's to the staff of Borders. May they pull their chestnuts out of the fire and survive in this age of mass consumerism while maintaining, dare I say, their ethos, incorporating the best of the old and the new.

About the Author

G. Tracy Mehan, III served at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the administrations of both Presidents Bush. He is a consultant in Arlington, Virginia, and an adjunct professor at George Mason University School of Law.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (58) | Leave a comment

Appleby| 2.14.11 @ 6:53AM

Here in Toronto we have only one chain bookstore, which (because, I am told, Canadians are terrified of choice) has bought every other chain bookstore in town and now can triumphantly tell me that there is not a single copy of whatever book I want (unless it is about Justin Beiber) in any downtown bookstore -- or occasionally, in Canada. This is not an exaggeration: at their local branch this has proved true the last seven times I have visited them, including this past Saturday. Consequently I ask my sister to collect such books as I want from the States, and a couple of times a year she ships them to Mama and I trek South to pick them up.

We do have a good anarchist bookstore that has excellent, literate childrens books. One of my favourite in this genre is called ITS A BOOK, and is the story of a little penguin reading a book, and a little donkey asking such questions as *can you Tweet it?* and *how do you download it?* to which the penguin responds, *No* and *You cant -- its a book.* (Be careful when you read it aloud for the first time -- the last page says succinctly, *Its a book, jackass.*)

I miss the Oxford Bookstore in Atlanta, which was the oasis of literacy, the best place to find travel books about somewhere besides Disney World and Mexico, and the home of Mensa members who preferred not to meet in bars. Sadly, it is no more.

Melvin| 2.14.11 @ 7:57AM

"Here in Toronto we have only one chain bookstore, which (because, I am told, Canadians are terrified of choice) "
Appleby, I always revel in your posts, and the above fits to a T. But I really never looked at Canadians from that perspective, but know that you have said it, your analysis naturally fits.

Le Cracquere| 2.14.11 @ 8:51AM

Requiescas in pace, Oxford--I remember it lovingly. At least I still have a couple of their bookmarks, out of which I hope to wring a few more decades' use.

Paul in Poughkeepsie| 2.14.11 @ 3:32PM

Didn't they have a cafe attached that was called "The Cup And Chaucer"?

Appleby| 2.15.11 @ 7:35AM

Yes, that was the place -- and the employees not only knew who Chaucer was, but let you take the books into the coffee shop and decide which one you wanted to buy, at leisure.

Le Cracquere| 2.15.11 @ 8:47AM

Even today, when I'm back in ATL visiting family, turning onto Peachtree Battle gives me an anticipatory tingle, now never to be rewarded. There's probably a decent local-interest book to be written about the history of that place, and about the various factors that ended it.

Harry the Horrible| 2.14.11 @ 9:42AM

Go the abeBooks, www.abebooks.com.
It is a confederation of booksellers from all over the world that have put their inventories on-line. They aren't as flashy as Amazon, but the range of choices is much bigger, and the prices might be as good or better.
If they don't have it, you probably can't get it.

Dean| 2.14.11 @ 10:06AM

Abebooks.com is a must for a devout bibliophile. I have purchased dozens of books through their affiliated dealers, and am grateful for their existence. Without them, I never would have found those books in my normal travels.

idalily| 2.14.11 @ 11:56PM

I love ABE, but shipping is way cheaper with Amazon. ABE is great for that occasional, rare book.

Tomas| 2.14.11 @ 11:43AM

I needed a very obscure book. Called the Castleton, IN Borders. Not only did they order the book, but they shipped it to my house, UPS, for free - saving me the $15 or so shipping charge. The fellow I dealt with was first-class.

Let's hope Chapter 11 works for Borders, and they are able to stay in business. To lose a company who treats its customers as well as I was treated would be tragic... There aren't many of them left.

Alan Brooks| 2.14.11 @ 4:04PM

"Borders, RIP?"

For a second I thought this piece was on La Raza.

Negro X| 2.14.11 @ 5:50PM

That is because you are a retard.

Alan Brooks| 2.14.11 @ 6:53PM

makes two of us.
I mean, like, with a name like Negro x?

JimP| 2.14.11 @ 7:37AM

I can't help but wonder how much the leftwing staffers affected Borders' demise. The last time I was in a Borders, I purchased a 'conservative' book (and I don't even recall the title. That's how unimportant the book was politically.) The staffer behaved as if I had leprosy. The contempt and condescension was thick enough to cut with a knife. Needless to say, I have used Amazon since and never regretted doing so. Adieu Borders. With no conservative customers, Borders naturally would turn to vampire books targeted at teenagers who, marketing shows, do not read much, if at all. Plus leftwing adults are only interested in Chairman Mao's Little Red Book and Rules for Radicals, right? How many copies of that will they buy?

Without intellectually curious conservative customers, no teenagers to buy and read vampire books or Justin Bieber stuff, wouldn't it become a death spiral? Who knows for sure, but I'd bet that had a measurable effect.

grant1863| 2.14.11 @ 8:28AM

I have had the same experience at Borders and ceased going there,now buy many more books on Amazon and this Sunday spent a few hours at the local Barnes and Noble looking at the magazine rack. Surprisingly they had American Spectator. At Borders they just snickered when asked about it. Will miss Borders very little, something better may replace it.

Bob K.| 2.14.11 @ 10:06AM

The B & N in this liberal bastion of NE PA carries A.S., N.R., American Conservative, Reason, and a couple of others that slip my mind. Occasionally they have "The Claremont Review."

Le Cracquere| 2.14.11 @ 8:57AM

Sorry to hear about that. During the post-911 recession, I made ends meet by working at Borders, and I was far from the only right-winger to work there. Bookstore clerks are a highly mixed bag.

Not that I doubt your story: I've known people on the left AND right who would be crass and childish enough to give a customer a hard time about a purchase that didn't suit their politics. For obvious reasons, they disproportionately tend to live out their lives in retail jobs.

JimP| 2.14.11 @ 10:04AM

I'm glad to hear that it wasn't all oneway and too that you had an opportunity to work for them. Thanks for the input.

Harmless Drudge| 2.14.11 @ 12:23PM

Agreed. The tattooed faces, pierced eyebrows, and electric pink hair of the staffers projected a visual incivility even when they didn't sneer at a conservative purchase. Dear brick & mortar retailers: If you expect to compete with the internet, hire people with manners who don't look like circus freaks.

A Borders Employee| 2.14.11 @ 12:44PM

If you expect not to be snickered at for your ignorance and hatred of the Other, then don't be ignorant and hateful of what is different than you. Chances are the assumptions you have about them are just as inaccurate about the assumptions they have about you. Be the first to be a bigger person and try not to be as shallow as a kiddie pool.

Harmless Drudge| 2.14.11 @ 1:05PM

Is it hateful to tell a drowning man to grab a life preserver? There is nothing wrong with telling a twenty-something that their attempts to be outre only result in them wasting their money and risking their health to look ugly. In any case, I am the customer and I do not enter stores to improve the self-esteem of clerks who choose to dress like extras in a 1980s post-apocalypse movie.

PaulyD| 2.14.11 @ 3:49PM

Touche!

Melvin| 2.14.11 @ 8:11AM

My sister used to work for Borders and she would receive a 50% or more discount on books. She didn't work around the retail end but in a large distribution center.
For a bookworm people, walking inside this building was like dying and going to heaven. Books of every size, every topic, and all these books were speaking to me to take them home.
I used to look forward to my birthday and Christmas because I knew what my sister was going to give me, I just didn't know the title.
If there was just one wish that could be granted to me. It would be that I could be independently wealthy, have a study, just like the one in the Biltmore Castle in North Carolina and do nothing but read.

Jim, your so correct in you observation of our younger generations that can spout how many hair follicles that Justin Bieber has on his chest than spout who are their elected representatives.
We are a Nation that is producing intellectually starved idiots.
Young people, communicate in grunts and squeaks, with those damnable cell phones. My daughter when she was younger used to text me, in what I call gibberish, and demanded that when she addressed me, she would do so in full sentences.
A bare arse baboon has better communication skills.

Le Cracquere| 2.14.11 @ 8:59AM

This is grossly unfair, Melvin. Anyone born with the ordinary number of fingers on one hand can calculate how many chest hairs Master Bieber sports.

Melvin| 2.14.11 @ 9:39AM

Hmmm, point taken, but my God!!!! have you seen the kid's back, Enough to make a Greek female jealous he is.

JP| 2.14.11 @ 8:36AM

I visited Borders last month (the first time in perhaps a decade). I was shocked how lousy thier book selection had become. There really wasn't any good reason for me to stay (thier cafe sold over priced coffee) - even thier once nice mag section is small when compared to the past.

I suppose I am one of the people who should bare some of the blame. I shop for books almost 100% online these days. I rarely venture to the library or the local bookstores. I can get old and out of print books online from sellers anywhere in the world. I suppose that's progress.

Appleby| 2.14.11 @ 3:23PM

Our local library branch had 41 pages of books listed about George VI. NONE OF THEM was available to be checked out -- they were either research only or "Place on Hold" meaning they could get it for me next week. The idea of looking for a book to read NOW seemed to have escaped them.

Incidentally, the young clerk whose task it is every week to tell me that Chapters does not have the book I want (whatever it is) has a great sense of humour; after the requisite Canadian Apology, he said "I hope you don't light on a book I like or it will disappear too!" and then he picked up a little book of Sayings, which (I am not making this up) had 4-6 words on each page and said, "Why don't you just take this little piece of garbage?"

P.S. Do you remember the posters from the 1960s and 1970s that said "Send me a man who reads!"? Alas, any such man you could find now would be over 50.

PaulD| 2.14.11 @ 8:47AM

Will Barnes and Nobel be next? Their prices on CDs and DVDs are absurd. I don't know why anyone would buy from them.

beebop| 2.15.11 @ 5:52AM

I live in a relatively small midwestern urban area. There were both a B&N and a Border's within half a mile of each other. The B&N upbruptly closed leaving Borders to pick up the slack. I preferred the B&N primarily for location and ease of getting in and out. One visit to the Borders left me feeling alternately "zened" and disturbed by the panoply of alternate styles presented by those on both sides of the counter. It also felt that the store was divided into books and all other and the latter was winning the battle. And those books that were presented were either on sale!!! or recommended by staff. As someone who has both worked in and worships at the alter of retail, I thought they could have improved the appearance of the store by having the courage to decide what they actually want to sell. But hey, that's just me!

Maura| 2.14.11 @ 9:17AM

Amazon Amazon Amazon. Better prices and best of all no snotty clerks.

JR| 2.14.11 @ 9:17AM

"But that is the point of a bookstore or a library: you find things you did not know you wanted or, perchance, needed."

I actually don't need a physical bookstore or library to help me find things I didn't know I needed. With Amazon's book recommendations, lists and the ability to "look inside" of most books, I have no problem filling my Wish List with books I want but don't need.

CopyKatnj| 2.14.11 @ 9:53AM

I guess I'd better use my gift card soon.

Petronius| 2.14.11 @ 10:48AM

Independent booksellers have been smashed by Price's First Law of Marketing for years. "If everybody does not want it, nobody get's it." This axiom has lead to decline in quality of all products as well as selection and availability. But Borders won't be missed because it is redolent of college book stores sans required texts and the grungy pierced and tattood clerks I ran into at Sunset Hills were enough to elicit a U turn and exit. That was years ago. And I've been buying at Barnes & Noble since. At least their lefty clerks aren't in need of a flea bath and will do anything necessary to make the sale. All well and good, but it's a sad state of affairs that independent merchants can't make it in the main stream of this trade. When Library Ltd. folded, every bibliophile within 50 miles shared the sorrow. These people are holding out in niches. Some sell second hand. Others, like Big Sleep Books market to mystery fans, or other single interests. And tucked out of the way in the heart of Webster Groves is a tiny neighborhood book shop run by two elderly ladies who know every lone wolf book seller on this continent, and will search that many to find what you're looking for. I go to them for titles from smaller presses. And I sing their praises here for that reason. They won't be ruled by the big distributors. Know this from the Sagas. "If it be so ordained, another way will be found."

Harry the Horrible| 2.14.11 @ 2:01PM

The Science Fiction / Mystery Bookstore was once my bookstore home in Atlanta. I did everything I could too keep in from going under and I miss it to this day.

Around where I live, Humpus Bumpus and other mom & pop bookstores are dying slow agonizing deaths. The B&N down the road is killing them. That and a generation that hardly reads...

Appleby| 2.15.11 @ 7:38AM

Oh rats, has that gone too? I loved that place from the day I found Atlas Shrugged under Science Fiction therein!

G. Tracy Mehan, III| 2.14.11 @ 11:14AM

Library Limited was a marvel of literary and marketing success. My sister used to work there. It is a legend in the book business.

DJ| 2.14.11 @ 11:26AM

I have been reading comments about Borders for the last month.It amazing me what people are saying about Borders. I have work at Borders for the last 6 years.part time for 5 and 1 year full time.Alot of the problems with Borders did start with high management not knowing how to sell books.You need customer service and book knowledge.Why would you continue to hired people that have never read anything but magazines.(not the good one either) i'm not try to trash the company .I love working at Borders if i could i would buy up the entire company and start fresh.But i can't.Another thing to blame is the customer that come in to the store with stack of coupons and get mad because they can only used 1 coupons.another thing the shelves are pretty bare right now because of digital technology everyone is turning to ereader of some sort.Guess what parents if you raise your child to read a physical book instead of a digital one we would have more books on our shelves.Because we would be making the money to be a profitable company again. No we are not carrying alot of magazine in the store anymore because most of the magazine have went to online only or the company has went out of business. So people don't blame everything on the Company.Look at yourself when was the last time you sat down and read a book or even pick up a book. No i'm don't have time is not a excuse make time you control your time no one else does. read a book go into a book store and buy a book. I dont care if it a B&N or Borders that one less person in the unemployment lines.
Thanks you!and im not try to offend any one.These are people jobs that you are making fun of.

Bob Miller| 2.14.11 @ 11:58AM

The largest Borders store in Indianapolis used to carry a very comprehensive offering of classical music CD's. That this declined to almost nothing in recent years was mainly because of a decline in consumer demand. I've seen a similar decline at Barnes and Noble stores. Amazon, with a nearly limitless access to new and used CD's, became my clear choice.

For books, Amazon is also my most convenient and low cost choice. The chain stores don't have the one thing that could set them apart, knowledgeable personnel.

Ed| 2.14.11 @ 12:36PM

In the Akron-Cleveland area, both Borders and B&N carry conservative books and magazines. I think the problem with both chains is that they are run by the same bean counters that are ruining a lot of retail chains. Look at Home Depot and the late, lamented Circuit City. HD was almost done in by its management and Circuit City has joined the dinosaurs in "Evolution: Game Over".

I do try to buy my books and similar items at these two stores and I avoid Amazon (except for out-of-print books). As was noted earlier, our Saturday afternoons are at stake.

S. Ruger| 2.14.11 @ 1:23PM

Borders started going downhill when they grew beyond one store. The original store was staffed with people so knowledgeable and dedicated they could have been plopped down into a university library and made passable librarians. People were assigned to different subjects and were expected to have significant understanding of their areas.

The classic course of craft, skill, and art to crassness, mass production, and junk.

Sparky| 2.14.11 @ 3:44PM

When I, a bright, shiny frosh, arrived in Ann Arbor in September 1973, Borders was a small used book shop on State Street. Ah, the memories!

Pat| 2.14.11 @ 5:17PM

If you’ve never set foot in a Borders’ store or have sworn your eternal loyalty to Barnes and Noble or Amazon, chances are you will be paying for Borders’ financial problems anyway. Our bankruptcy laws are picking all our pockets, we just aren’t told about it. When the Chapter 11 rules work their arcane magic, pre-bankruptcy debts are paid off at 10 cents on the dollar, but termination payments to departing VP’s, reorganization bonuses and taxes are paid at the full 100 cents. So, the trusting suppliers get thrown under the dusty Religion and Occult Studies bookshelves, while the old VP’s are let go with a smile and a huge payout, the government still gets paid every cent they had coming and the new corporate officers are rewarded with a hero’s medal and a multi-zero check which would make Bill Gates sit up and take notice.

After GM and Chrysler publicly humiliated us taxpayers with their amusing bedroom comedy of a government sponsored bankruptcy, the media could have spotlighted today’s corporate bankruptcy racket with appropriate soundbites from Bernie Madoff on how to swindle for fun and profit. Borders’ employees will get laid off and receive unemployment, but who helps the Borders’ supplier who got royally stiffed by some very expensive Wall St. law firms? If you want to know how those burned Borders’ suppliers recoup their losses and from whom, check out the books within the business section of any Borders’ location.

Bo| 2.14.11 @ 7:06PM

True story: I went to a borders and asked where the books about hobos were and got sent to the section with books about gay people.

Le Cracquere| 2.15.11 @ 8:53AM

Whaddayou--some kinda hobophobe?

And for future reference, J. Hodgman's magisterial "The Areas of My Expertise" is the only hobo reference you will ever need.

LBC| 2.14.11 @ 7:31PM

Sorry about Borders...but I have not shopped in a bookstore in years. All my books are bought through Amazon. Free delivery over $25, no tax, books are cheaper, lots of information and reviews available, and I always find what I want from the comfort of my office chair. Times change..nothing gold can stay. But...new gold gets discovered every day.

Occam's Tool| 2.14.11 @ 8:48PM

I'm a big fan of Joseph-Beth Books in Kentucky---one of the few things good about that wretched state.

But I do love Amazon and got a handwritten note from the sales department thanking me for being such a good customer. (that was too much, I thought.)

Occam's Tool| 2.14.11 @ 8:53PM

The Bodhi Tree in Santa Monica is going out of business in fall 2011. They were a great medical textbook store in their day, in addition to being charmingly new aged.

The Change of Hobbit Sci fi/fantasy store apparently is still open in Berkeley (but there was a branch in Santa Monica---what happened?)

Occam's Tool| 2.14.11 @ 8:55PM

And don't forget Powell's books in Portland.

Boogalou| 2.15.11 @ 10:00AM

I quit going to Borders when they pulled the magazines that depicted the danish cartoons ridiculing Mohammad.

Josh Marihugh| 2.17.11 @ 2:16PM

There's something just....wrong...about doing your book buying online. Half the fun is browsing the stacks, searching for that next great gem.

Around here, I always preferred Barnes and Noble to Borders...but my favorite has to be the local Gardner's Used Books. I could spend HOURS and many, many dollars at that store.

JeffT| 2.17.11 @ 3:00PM

I guess we should still have coal fired locomotives? The times they are a changin' and book stores are going to go the way of the steam engine. So be it. If I can download a book from Amazon in 5 seconds, why not? I have left my library behind since I received a Kindle for my birthday last September. I am reading more and enjoying not pawing through books stained with who-knows-what? smudges. My bookshelves are full of books I have either purchased or received as gifts. Think of all the trees I am saving. Shouldn't the Lefty book folks be happy about that? Probably not when it means they're out of a job.

Thomas O. Meehan| 2.17.11 @ 3:48PM

I too experienced the decline of Borders. At least I will not have to keep up the never ending fight to keep the American Conservative, the London Spectator and the Times Literary Supplement on the magazine racks. My Borders already closed down despite being within a few miles of Princeton NJ.

The demise of local bookshops is disheartening. Princeton used to have about 4-5 twenty years ago, of varying quality. Now there is just one used book shop and a chain shop that displaced a very good independant catering to the campus trade.

I order most of my books through Allibris.com. They are the best source of obscure and out of print books in my experience. After a book has been out for a short while you can usually pick up a gently used copy for pennys on the dollar from them.

I also get on the email lists of various university presses, from which I can order books direct. Curiously, you can't buy an a book at the site of Princeton University Press, even though they have a well stocked showroom!