Bookstore Closings in 2010 and the Fallout on the Economy and California's Literacy
Bookstore Closings Offer a Mixed Bag of Emptier Strip Mall Spaces, Unemployment and Creeping Illiteracy
Gone in 2010: All B. Dalton Bookseller Locations, Lighthouse Christian Stores and 200 Waldenbooks Stores (Borders Express)
Dating back to 1966, B. Dalton was a powerhouse of booksellers. When Barnes & Noble bought the chain, its once proud number of 798 stores had dwindled. In October of 2009, CBS 2 out of Chicago confirmed that Barnes & Noble plans on closing all B. Dalton stores by January 31, 2010.
This is bad news for smaller communities that are underserved when it comes to book stores. This is especially true for those with Waldenbooks stores in their areas. Among the other fiscally (and intellectually) impactful events in 2010 is the closure of 200 Waldenbooks stores - as reported by News Record, quoting the AP - which results in about 1,500 job losses.
Another 2010 calendar item to commemorate is the closure of the Lighthouse Christian Bookstores. The Long Beach, CA institution is currently holding its "everything must go" sale, but the Daily Breeze reveals that the gradual closure of this 64 year old business has been in the making for the last four years. While the LB store is still hanging on, it will likely close early in 2010.
What Will 2010 Bookstore Closings Do for California's (Il)Literacy?
A review of 2003 data from the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, shows that California ranks on the bottom of the list of literate states. With 23% of adults lacking basic prose literacy skills, the state is put to shame by Minnesota, New Hampshire and North Dakota. These states only showed a 6% prose literacy lack.
Numbers from within the state of California are quite sobering as well. Lowest literacy scores are found in Imperial County (41%), Los Angeles County (33%), Tulare County (32%), Madera County (29%) and Monterey County (28%). Waldenbooks store closures alone will take 12 bookstores out of California.
Costco and Wal-Mart sell books and for the truly literary minded, there is always the public library. Yet it stands to reason that the would-be reading enthusiast in need of gentle guidance, who might otherwise have relied on the knowledge of a bookseller with respect to reading levels and suggested further reading, will not find this kind of service from the average big box store cashier.
Sources
http://cbs2chicago.com/business/b.dalton.closing.2.1238590.html
http://www.news-record.com/content/2009/11/06/article/waldenbooks_stores_in_greensboro_winston_salem_to_close
http://www.lighthousestores.com/
http://www.dailybreeze.com/lifeandculture/ci_14045663
http://nces.ed.gov/naal/estimates/StateEstimates.aspx
http://nces.ed.gov/naal/estimates/StateEstimates.aspx
http://media.bordersstores.com/content/mediarelations/BSRClosinglist.pdf
Published by Sylvia Cochran - Featured Contributor in Automotive, Politics, Travel and Lifestyle
Sylvia Cochran works out of sunny Southern California and has been freelance writing -- full-time -- since 2005. SEO-optimized Internet copy includes news analysis, political Op/Ed and parenting as well as a... View profile
- Prater's Mill Country Fair in Dalton, GeorgiaAn outdoor country festival held each year at the historic Prater's Mill in Dalton, Georgia.
- The Dalton Gang: Dalton Days of Derring-DoThe Dalton Gang failed to achieve the notoriety of their forbears, the James-Younger Gang, who racked up more than 20 robberies between 1866 and 1876. Still, the Daltons have secured their place in the annals of Old...
- "Law and Order" District Attorney Arhur Branch is Fred Dalton Thompson!The personalities and temperaments of TVs "Law and Order" District Attorney, Arthur Branch, and Fred Dalton Thompson, the actor who portrays him, are so similar that Fred Thompson is simply playing himself.
The Oscar Winners: Dalton Trumbo, Best Screenplay "Roman Holiday," "The...A biography of Oscar-winning screenwriter Dalton Trumbo- Dalton Trumbo and the Hollywood Blacklist of Liberal WritersBeing a member of the communist party has never been a crime. Invoking your Fifth Amendment right has never been a crime. So then why did Dalton Trumbo spend almost a year in prison if he committed no crime?
- Kearney Waldenbooks Hilltop Mall Store to Close in January
- Best Engagement Photographers in Dalton, Georgia
- Enjoy the Peace and Quiet of Dalton, Georgia
- Driving the Denali Highway and the Dalton Highway in Alaska
- Waldenbooks to Close Norwichtown Mall Location
- Belgian Floor Company IVC U.S. Inc. to Build New Plant in Dalton, Georgia
- Star Spangled Christmas Parade in Dalton, GA
- Gone in 2010: All B. Dalton Bookseller Locations, Lighthouse Christian Stores and 200 Waldenbooks
- What Will 2010 Bookstore Closings Do for California's (Il)Literacy?
2 Comments
Post a CommentBut I oove Walden Books and B. Dalton. If B. Dalton is having problems does that mean that Barnes and Noble is too since they are sister stores? The only book store here in in my twon is not too bad. I haven't gotten to shop there yet. Don't have the money to. But I went in there during the summer loking for work and was impressed considering the size of the town.
how sad. I wonder if paperbookswap.com would help a little. i read a lot, there are plenty of book stores around here(thank God)for those that can buy, but I'm broke. At the website, you go on, list all the books you own, which gives you 2 credits right off. with thoise credits, yuo can browse and get any 2 books you like, the owner of the books pay to ship them to youu. Then if someone requests books from yu, you do the same for them:)