57th Street

So I found this old article in The Atlantic Monthly arguing that bookstore chains like Borders and Barnes & Noble have improved the country by spreading intellectualism to the once unliterary suburbs. And as for the already lucky communities that have independent book sellers, a new Barnes or Borders nearby is an improvement. It’s an improvement, according to Brooke Allen, who wrote the piece, because

“The superstores have given readers, writers, and publishers an invaluable gift: shelf room. The typical superstore carries about 150,000 titles in about 20,000 square feet of space, whereas the typical independent has room for fewer than 20,000 titles.”

Allen goes on to argue that, against common misconception, these book chains also carry books from smaller presses and less famous titles unlike what independent bookstore activists claim. So tell me Allen, why didn’t Borders have the Paris Review while the more reliable 57th Street Books. (namesake of the blog) did?
(sidenote, I don’t regularly read the Paris Review but lately I’ve been looking for new things to read and the Review was in consideration)
Allen continues with the Darwinian business rationale that even though the book chain giants cause smaller independent bookstores to die,

“By and large, however, the best independents have held their own, thanks to some energetic rearguard actions and to the realization by the independents that if they are going to keep competing, they have to provide some of the more successful features of the chains, such as discounts, extended hours, comfort, and parking.”

It made me wonder, Is the Seminary Co-op Bookstore and its 57th Street office —long time establishments of Hyde Park— one of those? Yes.
I have fond memories of 57th Street Books. I remember spending hours there browsing in the kids section, stopping by on the way home from high school, and during the summers tying the dog up outside to pick up a new tome and a Chicago Reader. So I want to see that place last forever.
I remember when Borders first moved to Hyde Park, I repeatedly predicted it was the end for independent bookstores in Hyde Park like the 57th Street and the various other used book shops around here. But these days it’s rumored that the Borders of Hyde Park is going to close. And from what I can tell when I’m in there, that’s true.
There are more people people sipping coffee, playing chess at the cafe, or browsing the music section, than there are readers on the first floor. This could just mean that patrons actually looking for books are buying the books and then leaving but I doubt it. I see just as many people in 57th Street as there are in Borders but they are reading —there’s no coffee shop in 57th Street, no music, no room really. Seminary Co-op didn’t take the sensible business strategy that if you have music, coffee, and space people might see the books and browse a bit, which is working.
My hypothesis is that it’s because of familiarity. While Borders, Barnes & Noble, and Books-A-Million, may really thrive in places where there are no literature stops already, there’s already a good book front here. The Seminary Co-op bookstores survive well here because

1. Hyde Parkers are socially awkward recluses, highly adverse to anything new and different.
2. 57th Street sells what Hyde Parkers want. While Borders in Hyde Park may offer a range of crowd pleasers, the Seminary Co-op bookstores’ selection has been honed over many years to appeal to those who live directly next to the University of Chicago.
3. Location, location location. A cliche, I know. Since the actual Seminary Co-op Bookstore is right on the University’s ground (and also carries textbooks for the UChicago) regular readers are far more likely to stop at the closest opportunity than schlep to 53rd.

I agree with Brooke that it’s a good thing to have these big chains that come to small towns and spread the good literature word, but I like my cramped, comfy bookstore.
So the big ugly corporate giant that tried to take root in Hyde Park fails and I get to go to the same place where I rushed to the Science Fiction section to read the latest Rogue Squadron novel…but I grew out of such silliness…