With many people purchasing their books online and others using newer technology to get their literature, it has become more difficult for bookstores to remain profitable.
In Tuckahoe, Julie Forrest said the Internet has made it more convenient to shop from home.
“It’s so much easier to just hop online, read a review and have them send the book to you,” she said. “Especially since there are so few bookstores in the area, it makes more sense to just do it that way.”
In 2011, Barnes and Noble’s main competitor, Borders, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and liquidated its assets.
The rate of stores closing hasn’t changed much in the past decade, but Barnes and Noble has been opening more stores than it was closing until a few years ago, according to published reports. An average of 20 stores will close each year, up from approximately 15 over the past 10 years. The chain will maintain approximately 500 stores 10 years from now.
“It doesn’t shock me that bookstores are being phased out. Everywhere you look, people are reading digitally,” Scarsdale resident Jon Wall said.
Tuckahoe resident Eve Michels said she will miss frequenting the Barnes and Noble on Central Park Avenue in Yonkers if it’s one of the stores forced to close its doors.
“I really enjoy sitting down, reading a magazine and having a coffee,” she said. “I hope that I’ll still be able to do that in a few years.”
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