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Is it the end for independent bookstores?

Some day, Canadians will look back wistfully on the days when pockets were filled with copper coins, mail was delivered to the door and books were sold in stores. But independent booksellers see the writing on the wall and it basically says: "buy it online." We're turning a page in the name of technology and progress....
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The Current25:49Is it the end for independent bookstore? - March 31, 2014
Some day, Canadians will look back wistfully on the days when pockets were filled with copper coins, mail was delivered to the door and books were sold in stores. But independent booksellers see the writing on the wall and it basically says: "buy it online." We're turning a page in the name of technology and progress.

Independent book stores are important because they provide the community with an access point for specialty knowledge. We probably have the largest collection of translated northern european crime fiction in the city and we can tell you more about the books that we have what's good what's not than somebody who has to run a more generalized institution.Michael Bumsted and his father Jack run the

The Whodunit Mystery Bookstore has been around for more than 20 years. But across the country, it's getting harder for people who run bookstores like Whodunit Mystery to keep their doors open.

Just this month, Toronto lost The World's Biggest Book Store and The Cookbook Store. Hull's Books in Winnipeg shut down after 95 years in business ... as did the anarchist bookshop Mondragon. Bently Books in Cochrane, Alberta closed its doors last week. And in Calgary, Words Worth will sell its last book today.

Frans Donker mourns the loss of the store he opened 37 years ago. He's the owner of Book City in Toronto. His flagship store in the Annex neigbhourhood closed last night, though his son will continue operating other Book City locations. Frans Donker was in Toronto.


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Woozles bookstore owner Liz Crocker in Halifax

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There are independent bookstores that are bucking the trend. Woozles -- which takes its name from an imaginary creature hunted by Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet -- is Canada's oldest independently owned children's bookstore. It's in Halifax and amidst the gloom, it's staff are celebrating 35 years in business.


Mike Shatzkin is a publishing consultant who has been working in the industry for 50 years and he thinks the changes the book industry is going through are actually great for readers ... even if they hurt independent bookstores and publishers. Mark Shatzkin was in New York City.


Do you have a story about your favourite independent bookstore? What you think about the prospect of living in a world without one?

We've opened up our comments below. Tweet us @thecurrentcbc. Or e-mail us through our website. Find us on Facebook. Call us toll-free at 1 877 287 7366.

And as always if you missed anything on The Current, grab a podcast.

This segment was produced by The Current's Josh Bloch and Peter Mitton.

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