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Check out this scary article:

Laredo could be largest US city without bookstore

Laredo could soon be largest US city without a single bookstore; B. Dalton to close next month

By Paul J. Weber, Associated Press Writer , On Wednesday December 16, 2009, 4:37 pm EST
LAREDO, Texas (AP) -- The final chapter has been written for the lone bookstore on the streets of Laredo.

With a population of nearly a quarter-million people, this city could soon be the largest in the nation without a single bookseller.

The situation is so grim that schoolchildren have pleaded for a reprieve from next month's planned shutdown of the B. Dalton bookstore. After that, the nearest store will be 150 miles away in San Antonio.

The B. Dalton store was never a community destination with comfy couches and an espresso bar, but its closing will create a literary void in a city with a high illiteracy rate. Industry analysts and book associations could not name a larger American city without a single bookseller.

"Corporate America considers Laredo kind of the backwater," said the city's most prolific author, Jerry Thompson, a professor at Texas A&M University International who has written more than 20 books.

Since the closing was announced, book lovers in Laredo have flocked to the small store located between City Trendz ("Laredo's No. 1 Underground Hip Hop Shop") and a store that offers $4 indoor go-kart rides to stock up on their favorite titles.

Schoolchildren even wrote letters to the parent company, Barnes & Noble, begging for the store to stay open.

"Without that store, my life would be so sad and boring," wrote a fifth-grader named Bryanna Salinas, who signed her name with a heart.

The Laredo store is among 49 remaining B. Daltons nationwide that Barnes & Noble will close by next year.

The company believes a bookstore is viable in Laredo and has identified a location for a large-format Barnes & Noble, but the space will not be available for at least 18 months, said David Deason, Barnes & Noble vice president of development.

In the meantime, without a single independent bookseller, Laredo may be in a league of its own among big cities.

Though an independent bookstore is the only one of its kind in Newark, N.J., a city of nearly 288,000, big chains are nearby in the suburbs or New York City. Laredo is surrounded by nothing more than rural ranching towns on its side of the border.

"We suffer, but we don't suffer to the extent that a Laredo would," said Wilma Grey, director of the Newark Public Library.

Some worry that the closing could send a message that books and reading are not priorities in Laredo, a hot, steamy city of 230,000 that is choked by smog from trucks lining up at the border, which is home to the nation's biggest entry point for trucks and trains.

Nearly half of the population of Webb County, which includes Laredo, lacks basic literacy skills, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Fewer than 1 in 5 city residents has a college degree. And about 30 percent of the city lives below the poverty level, according to the 2000 census.

Laredo residents can still purchase books online, but civic leaders fear that without a bookstore, many residents will not have the opportunity to buy books.

Many also feel that the stigma of not having a bookstore hurts Laredo's reputation.

Outsiders, even other Texans, do not always distinguish between "los dos Laredos," the relatively peaceful city in Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, across the border in Mexico, which has been wracked by drug-war violence.

But some bookstore supporters are undaunted.

Maria Soliz, Laredo Public Library director, is leading the charge to get a bookstore back. The city's library system was already planning to open two more branches over the next two years to meet demand. That's in addition to the two-story main library painted in bold, Mexican-inspired colors that serves about 400,000 visitors annually.

"It's not reflective of the city that they're closing," Soliz said. "I know this city can support a bookstore."

Deason said the Laredo store is profitable, but its profits are not significant when factoring in the expenses of running a chain that's being phased out.

Some people also question the city's priorities. As Elaine Perry walked out of the bookstore earlier this month with a heavy bag of hardcovers, she criticized a recent proposal to build an indoor snow park.

"A snowboarding park in Laredo," Perry said. "Have you ever heard of anything so stupid?"

Bookstore customers tend to be well educated and to have disposable income, said Michael Norris, an analyst with Simba Information. But that demographic is hardly what makes or breaks the business, he said.

A bookstore is "either the cultural center in its community, or it's a pile of books with a roof over it," Norris said.

The B. Dalton in Laredo certainly skews toward the latter. It has narrow aisles, no coffee for sale and not a single chair to sit and read.

City Trendz employee Seve Perez said much of the traffic at Mall del Norte comes from Mexico, both from Nuevo Laredo and deal-seeking shoppers bused in from the country's interior.

Standing behind a rack of sale T-shirts that read "Save Texas Rap," the 66-year-old said his bookish daughters will be crushed when the bookstore leaves.

Next door, Laredo resident Misti Saenz walked out of B. Dalton with a sack of nine romance novels for her teenage daughter. She was stocking up before the store closes Jan. 16.

"It's going to be a total bummer," Saenz said. "It made me wish I had shopped there more."

I know there's internet access, the library, grocery stores and what not, but that's just awful. There's just something about going to an actual bookstore. If the space to build a B&N won't be available to build on for 18mos, how long until its up and running? I've always had easy access to multiple bookstores, and have always taken it for granted. This article is a book addicts worst nightmare.

I'm with you Michelle, this article is a book addicts worst nightmare. I just love going into my local Barnes and Noble and Borders, and just looking at the books and seeing the displays of various book extras. I think I would lose my mind without these stores around-I need the visuals!

Shannon wrote: "I'm with you Michelle, this article is a book addicts worst nightmare. I just love going into my local Barnes and Noble and Borders, and just looking at the books and seeing the displays of variou..."

Just the thought of not being near a bookstore gives me an upset stomach, lol!! Seriously, I look forward to going to places like B&N and Borders etc, not only to buy books, but also for the atmosphere. Its just so relaxing, and I've discovered a lot of books outside of my "comfort genre" that I've enjoyed. I never would've considered them if it wasn't for browsing or "the visuals", and the fact that I can read a little and grab some coffee.

I can relate to that. Until recently, I had to drive 25 or so miles to the nearest book store. They finally decided to build a shoppping center in my area & I had my fingers crossed for months hoping that a Border or Barnes & Nobles was put there. NOPE. They had to put a Books-A-Fricking-Million in. I HATE BAM. The only thing that they have going for them is that they have a decent clearance section, but other than that, they stink. Thank goodness for Amazon & Amazon Prime.

I'm with you on BAM, Jen. They seem to cater to religious fanatics. :(

Kristopher

There are NO book stores in my town.I live on the border of Vermont and New Hampshire and I have to go acrooss the bridge into New Hampshire which is about a mile way to my nearest favorite book store.

No bookstore within a 150-mile radius? I am horrified beyond words... seriously, that's one of my worst nightmares.

This strikes a lot less terror in my heart than it would have at one time. I think that with the internet I'd probably be okay with only monthly trips to book stores. I also grew up in a small, ignorant town in Tennessee that was 30 miles from the nearest bookstore. I spent a lot of time really contemplating my purchases when we went to the town with the bookstore. I knew they would have to last and that they'd better be good. I moved back to that small town as an adult when I was going through a hard patch in my life. I was working at McDonalds, making a quarter more than the federal minimum wage, and by that point there was a used book store in town. The wonderful guy who owned it would do 2 for 1 swaps on all his used stuff. I used to walk to his used bookstore on pay-days and purchase 6-8 used books at something like a dollar each and then would swap them back in as the week went on and I finished the books. It was a great system. I don't do that anymore, though. I'm in a better place in my life and don't turn loose of books for anything. Once I buy it, it's going to be mine forever.

I've only just joined the group and reading the threads, it seems as if its a group only for Americans. I've travelled a lot in the world and there are loads and loads of countries where you wouldn't find a bookshop outside of the cities. I live in the Caribbean and outside of supermarkets selling romances and Bible and school text book shops, there really are very few bookshops. But I have one of them.

Petra,

This site does seem to be aimed mostly at Americans and British readers, but *everyone* is welcome. I'm glad that you've joined us.

Kristopher