Granby01033

When I worked at the Odyssey Bookshop back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, I was part of a vibrant community of booksellers. The were the Globe and Broadside in Northampton and the Lord Jeffrey Amherst and Albion Bookstores in Amherst. A lot of cool people worked at these stores and a lot of authors came through on book tours.

The closing of the Jeffrey Amherst Bookstore, however, still marks the end of an era. According to the Daily Hamphsire Gazette, the store was begun in 1937 by an Amherst College alumnus. It's the area's oldest independent bookstore.

Facing big box stores and internet sales, It's amazing how many of independent bookstores remain. The Globe is gone. The Albion is gone. Bruce MacMillan of Broadside Books died, but the store lives on. The Odyssey, of course, is alive and well. Food for Thought has been in Amherst for decades and Amherst Books has been there a while too. There are also still plenty of used bookstores in the area.

AMHERST - A bookstore that has anchored the downtown business scene for more than 70 years could be closing its doors in the coming weeks.

Howard Gersten, who with wife Joy has owned the Jeffery Amherst Bookshop since 1978, said Tuesday that he was unable to find a buyer for the store, despite placing an advertisement in the Amherst Bulletin in June, and is now anticipating beginning the process of closing.

"We couldn't find the right person to buy the store, so Joy and I decided to retire," Gersten said.

Gersten, who is almost 79, said he and his wife have already worked well past the ages that many people call it a career.

A half-price sale to begin selling stock is scheduled to begin Monday.

Whether its closing is indicative of the state of independent booksellers is unclear, though Gersten acknowledged that stores like his have been facing more challenges.

"It's been a rough go for independent bookstores these days because of the tremendous competition from the Internet and big-box chain stores like Barnes & Noble," Gersten said.

Gersten said that when he first came to Amherst, the Route 9 commercial strip in Hadley was not taking as many shoppers away from downtown. But with the growth of the malls, and specifically the addition of a Barnes & Noble Booksellers at Mountain Farms Mall, the pressure has been building.

"It's been a really difficult world for independent booksellers," said Herold, who suspects that his store might benefit a small amount from Jeffery Amherst Bookstore closing.

But one theory states that having three independent booksellers, which also includes Food for Thought Books, is actually helpful to each as a draw for customers.

A committed independent bookseller can still succeed, Gersten said, in Amherst because it is community where people are still passionate about reading books, or at least buying them. "Amherst has a very unique advantage as a college town," Gersten said.

The need for textbooks for the higher education also helps. "The town has maintained three good bookstores because of the shared textbook business," Gersten said.

--Mb