Farewell Borders Books

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Farewell Borders Books

Post by Kaztronic » 07-19-2011 09:44 AM

I barely know what to say...... have stared at this screen for a long time overnight, trying to figure out what I want to write about the demise of Borders Books, Music, Movies & Cafe.

I think that tonight my feelings are driven by the many wonderful people I had the opportunity to work with for ten years. At the bookseller level, Borders was a company made up of intelligent, often eccentric, passionate, well-read people. In recent years that began to change, but once upon a time Borders was the serious bookstore that made you take a literature test in order to be hired. We took pride in the work we did, and had a truly wonderful opportunity to share our own passion for books with customers we came to know over the years.

I have always resented the Independent book store folks who looked down upon us, as if we were somehow lesser than them - not as intelligent, not as well read. Most of the people I worked with truly loved books, were voracious readers. The staff was often made up of enough people that nearly every genre of book had a staff member who could make a recommendation and answer customer questions. We were a different kind of store, but we brought something unique, and in my opinion wonderful in to the lives of a lot of people. There were things we could do that most other bookstores never could, for example:

Borders offered a selection that not even Barnes & Noble could match up until about four years ago. We prided ourselves on selling books that you really couldn't find anywhere else. At 25,000 square feet per store, we had the ability to house just about anything a customer could want. Beyond books, this included music - where we specialized in Classical, Jazz, and International music that was often difficult to find anywhere else.

We also found a way to connect with teenagers. For a time, our stores were a place to hang out after school. We encouraged these kids, often not welcome in other stores to make themselves comfortable, to browse to their hearts content. We made ourselves experts on the titles that would most appeal to these kids - we put books in their hands. Did you know which bookstore first featured Harry Potter as a title worth reading in the U.S.? How about the Twilight Series? We used to have a program called "Original Voices", and these are two of the more notable book series that Borders got behind before most others. It was important to us to push books by Authors less well known than others, especially when they had written something special. Even towards the end, you could walk in to any of our stores and find kids sitting on the floor, reading Manga.

I consider this a terrible loss. I watched my 13 year old Cousin reading a book the other day........ on his Kindle. I felt a great sadness when I realized how long it had been since he had been in a book store, how long it had been since he had purchased a physical book (I know, because I used to be his bookseller). It dawned upon me that no longer will he walk in to a bookstore where someone could make a recommendation, no longer would he buy a book that he could loan to a friend because he enjoyed it so much.

I would like to say this about Borders the company. For most of it's history (until the last three years), it was a wonderful place to work. People tend to think of big corporations in a negative way - but this place was different. In 2002, my Mother passed away. After making sure I was OK, my Store Manager told me that "Borders wants to know if you need any assistance with funeral arrangements or expenses". I was 25 years old, and quite poor. I've never forgotten that offer of assistance, and I will never forget all of the people I had an opportunity to work with who were helped by Borders. Employees who had trouble paying rent, who needed assistance to go to school, who ran in to sudden medical problems. If you needed help, you knew that you worked for a company that cared for your welfare. It was frankly both surprising, and inspirational to know that even in corporate America, a company might treat it's hourly employees as more then associate ID numbers - but as people.

I worked for Borders for ten years. I started as a bookseller, and worked by way up through the ranks until I was a Store Manager. When I joined Borders, I was 23 years old, an unruly child. Over the last two years it has occurred to me that I grew up at Borders, became an adult. During my time with Borders, I helped to open 11 stores. In total, I worked at 16 stores over the years. A lot of hours, a smidgeon of blood, a ton of sweat, and yes, tears went in to that job. I met and worked with hundreds of people over the years, only a handful I could have done without. The majority were awesome, and many will be life-long friends.

I loved my job at Borders. I loved the people I worked with. I loved the environment I found myself in. I loved the product I was able to handle everday, books, movies and music that have expanded my world and understanding.

It's all gone now........

And I cannot help but feel a terrible sense of loss tonight.

The last time I cried myself to sleep was the day I left Borders. I don't expect that I will make it through this evening without shedding some more tears over the memories, and the 10,000 people who lost their jobs today - many of them friends.

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Post by Fan » 07-19-2011 10:00 AM

that is sad, and although I have spent many many dollars at bookstores, I must say I am now an ebook reader as well. I have a huge personal library at home, but when I am hopping on a bus it is just impossible to not grab my ebook reader with something like 250 titles on it, that saves my page for me, that syncs up with my other devices... it is the size of a tiny paperback. I still do buy many books, especially hard-to-find, out of print, rare editions, and hardcovers, but I tend to rarely end up with them in my lap. Ever since being forced to ingest ridiculous amounts of books in english lit. I have had a hard time being the reader I once was. I used to have 10+ books on my nightstand, and rotate through them at will. Now I struggle to finish a single book in a month.

I feel your pain Kaz, this is a big part of your life that is going away. However, the people you met and the experiences you had will stay with you, and that is not something to scoff at. There still are some great booksellers out there, I just made contact with one in Toronto that has all sorts of amazing books I did not know existed, and am doing mail-order deals with them every few weeks.

Keep the faith, people still need books, and people still need people who love books. Spread that love, and instill a love of reading in people. This is the best thing you can do for a young mind in my opinion.

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Post by Dale O Sea » 07-19-2011 11:20 AM

I heard this on the news this morning and was hoping it was not the store you were with, Kaz. Sorry to hear this and that it will effect you so directly.

I could say much about why this might have happened, what brought it about, but you said a lot when you mentioned that you saw your cousin was reading on his Kindle. Had that been a Koko and Borders downsized the giant brick and mortar investment, perhaps there would be no Border's headline today? I'm saying that your cousin made a brand choice like millions of others..and that I've never even heard of the Koko - I looked it up after reading your post.

Amazon is a book Goliath and many more smaller book sellers will fall before this old media purge and redistribution all shakes down. Survivors will have found a niche that Amazon can't or doesn't fill well. And with your background and experience I bet you'll soon find one of those niche services or stores to replace your loss.

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Post by Kaztronic » 07-19-2011 11:57 AM

About two years ago, I saw the writing on the wall and began looking for other opportunities. I was very fortunate to find a great company that offered me a position, and frankly a quality of life that had become non-existent at Borders during its unfortunate, and unpleasant latter years.

Still, so many friends remained until the bitter end. Many of them not even looking for other employment.... I never understood that. In my new company, I am preparing to open our first store in Brooklyn, and can hopefully offer positions to some of these folks who just discovered the pending loss of their jobs today.

Borders was ruined by a perfect storm, a series of mistakes compounded by external factors such as the recession and collapse of the music and movie industry. Added altogether there really was no chance of survival and the company was mortally wounded before the kindle ever hit the market.

Thank you both for the kind words, and for replying to this thread. It is very much appreciated on a blue day like this.
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Post by Live365 » 07-19-2011 05:05 PM

I had seen this coming for months, and was very concerned. I hope that once the mourning is over, you will see this as a new chapter in your life. With apologies for the unfortunate pun. There are many times when I can't understand what is happening to the world. There are other times, when I understand completely.

When time permits, call up the Star Trek episode "Court Martial", and listen to the monologue on books versus computers. As long ago as 1969, Gene Roddenberry saw this coming.

P.S. I would ask permssion to post this to the new Forum. There are many there who care.
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Post by voguy » 07-19-2011 07:29 PM

The one thing that bothers me the most about the demise of book stores and books in general, is that I have a nagging feeling centuries from now there will be a void of history. Books seem to last forever, my photos are in binders and secure in lockers, and my almost depleted record collection still plays.

However, I keep reading about laser rot, hard drive failures, thumb drives misplaced, or SD cards lost. Just from people I know, much of the last 15 years is now gone, never to be replaced.

And for me, books are enjoyable to read on a flight, or in the hotel room. Maybe it's just my age, but I find reading off a laptop very unappealing. But a book, that's a different story.

I enjoy browsing a book store, like I did this past week, where I found "Acoustic Design for the Home Studio" by Mitch Gallagher, ISBN-101-59865-285 x. Now this is something I can read, make notes in, toss in my brief case, read on the road.

So I mourn for the book and the books store. I understand their demise, and I don't like it, but it does make me sad. I hope our technology does not take us in a path where we loose our music, photos, history, and most of all, good reading material.
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Post by SquidInk » 07-19-2011 09:02 PM

Kaz...

You have succeeded in focusing our attention on the human aspect of an entity that could, from some perspectives, seem to lack humanity. Well done, & thank you.

Good luck to you, and your friends!




Live365 wrote: When time permits, call up the Star Trek episode "Court Martial", and listen to the monologue on books versus computers. As long ago as 1969, Gene Roddenberry saw this coming..


Whoa! Live... You win the Daily Arcane Reference Award.
Defense lawyer Cogley, for example, is portrayed as a charming eccentric who still insists on using antiquated books in his legal method. He insists that the internal, historical narrative of law is found only in books, even dull old law books, and is lost in the sterile world of the computer. The computer legal database has none of the dog-eared pages, hand-scribbled notes and bookmarks, and well-thumbed versus untouched pages to cue the reader. And so, he insists on stacks and stacks of books, even in the courtroom (Paramount Home Video, [1967](1985)). - source


Interesting!
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Post by BenSlain » 07-19-2011 10:59 PM

Ours closed about a month ago here. A hugh two story store in the mall. It was a great place. We still have two Barnes and Nobles. But I also must admit. I to have 800 or so ebooks on my Ipad.

What kind of store is your new position in? Books also? Publishing?
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Post by Kaztronic » 07-20-2011 12:37 AM

BenSlain wrote: Ours closed about a month ago here. A hugh two story store in the mall. It was a great place. We still have two Barnes and Nobles. But I also must admit. I to have 800 or so ebooks on my Ipad.

What kind of store is your new position in? Books also? Publishing?


The adults don't worry me so much when it comes to e-books, most of us have small libraries and are used to handling books. It was two situations that I recently witnessed however that made me think about the future:

1. My Cousin as mentioned above, who has stopped buying physical books altogether.

2. My boyfriend, in his mid-20's, recently wanted to listen to some tunes. I have a lot of vinyl, and we dug in to some records (specifically Fleetwood Mac when it was led by Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer, and Danny Kirwan). I stepped out of the room for a sec and asked him to play a specific track. He came out a minute later and said he didn't know how to operate the turntable. Not quite comprehending, I asked him if he had ever played a record before, and he admitted he hadn't, which was why he was so fascinated by the sound coming out of those big black discs.

To my boyfriend, the idea of never having owned a record was perfectly natural. To my Cousin, the idea of not buying physical books again is natural. Upon considering both of them, I wonder how long it will be before kids grow up having never owned a physical book?

Anyway.......

To answer your question, no I am no longer working with books, and don't anticipate doing so again anytime soon as it is such a volatile industry right now with zero security. I do however get to work with pets, and love it.

Until I eventually open my own Grindhouse movie theater, this will keep me quite happy and content. :)
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Post by voguy » 07-20-2011 07:40 PM

I stepped out of the room for a sec and asked him to play a specific track. He came out a minute later and said he didn't know how to operate the turntable.


In a hobby and professional capacity, I do a lot of reel to reel tape and 45/LP transfers, It's always interesting to watch the faces of people < 18 years old as I do transfer stuff. One kid called 45s "black CDs".

The one thing I will say, if you play someone a classic track downloaded from Rhapsody or another on-line download site, and then play them tape or record, most of the time they thing the older media sounds fuller.
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Post by Dude111 » 07-20-2011 08:08 PM

Sad....... Borders is a good place :)

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Post by earthist » 07-21-2011 07:37 AM

Kaz, thanks for your post! Borders (named for Tom and Lou Borders, the founders) was originally a local bookstore here in Ann Arbor, where I live. We considered it one of the best booksellers in the country; on a par with Kroch's and Brentano's in Chicago, and Politics & Prose in D.C.

We locals loved the place, and it was known for all the things you mentioned: good, knowledgeable employees, treated them well, huge selection, and could get you anything you wanted to order, and do it quickly. When the brothers sold out to Kmart/Waldenbooks, we mourned, but, as you pointed out, they did manage to maintain much of the original policies and attitude.

Even so, it became a behemoth "chain," seeming to go everywhere (at one point, we had 3 of them within 10 miles of each other), and putting smaller booksellers out of business in the process. The only places that could compete were also huge "behemoths" that were not nearly so well run, but they had the backing, and they were "efficient."

I suppose we shouldn't blame the "coporate" Borders for changing the face of the market. It's just as easy to say they did their best to play the power game while maintaining their original values, and were the victims of a bigger trend. Still, one way or another, they became a part of the juggernaut, and when they did, they lost a lot of the support of the locals.

It's my belief that, had they remained a one-store operation, or even had they expanded to become one-store operations in new markets (you opened 16 of them?!?), they would have maintained customer loyalty.

No doubt, the electronic age was the final blow that "killed" Borders, but looking from where I sit, they were already becoming less relevant before then.

No matter what, though, I "knew them when," and I share your sense of loss.
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Post by Live365 » 07-21-2011 01:14 PM

On a somewhat related note. Video killed the Radio Star.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2 ... very_n.htm

Postmaster says days are numbered for Saturday mail delivery

Falling mail volume and soaring red ink may soon doom Saturday mail delivery and prompt three-day-a-week delivery within 15 years, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe warns.

Donahoe's forecast is based on a projected $8.3 billion loss this year as the drift from paper to electronic communication hammers the Postal Service.

He said a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll last year helped move the discussion along. More than half of those polled had no problem with losing the Saturday service.

Mail carriers have been making rounds six days a week since the 19th century.
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Post by Dale O Sea » 07-21-2011 01:56 PM

Progress..time marches on.

Old makes way for the new - new makes way for the new and better..

Now, should Borders have been as big as GM, B of A...who knows?

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Post by megman » 07-21-2011 05:22 PM

Sorry to hear this. Very disheartening.

I grew up with my nose in books and this will never change. I still love the feel and especially the smell of the old ones. To me nothing will replace print as far as reading material goes.

Although I can use Mastercam and Autocad, I grew up drafting by hand and still do so.

I can see the same thing happening to Chapters. Was in a store up here the other day and the books are slowly disappearing only to be replaced by bling for the home......
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