Since moving to the Traverse City area, I have seen a startling decline in the number of brick-and-mortar bookstores. Once referred to as a “bookish town”, hosting numerous nationally recognized authors and festivals has been on life support for the past couple of years. So how and why have we seen this decline?
In my opinion it started in the 90’s with the oversaturation by giant chains like Borders and Barnes and Noble who tried to outdo themselves by opening too many stores. Also the rise of Amazon and the overproduction of best-selling titles by major publishing houses. As these big box stores of books spread across the country, we learned what the carrying capacity was.
In Traverse City, there was a great deal of opposition to Borders opening a location. However, a store was opened, store #168. It did not usher in an end to independent stores as locals worried, in fact it increased book sales. By the fall of 2011 things would be over for Borders and Barnes and Noble would be declared the winner. Store #168 would be resurrected as Books-A-Million.
People in isolation purchased and read books online or eBooks. COVID forced many stores to close due to expenses and overarching debts. Traverse City has lost Arnold’s, Beulahland Books, Thompson News, So Many Books-So Little Time, Cottage Bookshop, the Bookie Joint and most recently, Brilliant Books which will now be strictly online service. Horizon Books has been on and off the market. The remaining used bookstores, Dog Ear Books, Landmark Books and Blue Vase Books are the last standing.
The actual number of books published each year has increased with the popularity of self-publishing, thus the decline has nothing to do with a lack of printed matter. I think the decline stems from the aftermath of the pandemic and the increase in cost. Books are a luxury items and as home budgets become thinner, they get phased out. Libraries are now media centers; classrooms no longer use textbooks. Our cultural shift away from reading and education will only exacerbate the problem. If you feel books are vital, support your libraries and independent bookstores as much as you can.