Bookstore to bookstore

Laurel Eaton
Unity
To the editor,

I met the news of the Dartmouth Bookstore’s closing with such sadness. I love bookstores. I love the serendipity that comes from browsing shelves. Maybe I’ll encounter an author I’ve never heard of, or happen upon a topic that I might never have considered. The loss of any bookshop is devastating to all booksellers. Though we carry many of the same items, each shop carries the essence of its owners/employees through their selections and displays, as artfully curated as any museum. But alas, we are not museums.

Bookstores are not the only retail establishments suffering a decline in patronage and sales. Whether it’s due to on-line shopping, or excuses of busy schedules or inadequate parking or cheaper prices in the big-box stores, we all struggle to keep our doors open. We appreciate hearing “You have a lovely shop,” but when that is accompanied by the doorbell chiming as a customer leaves empty-handed, it’s hard to keep up one’s spirits.

As citizens, we’re all busy and we all need to make the most of our money, but please try, especially during the upcoming holiday season, to make an effort to patronize your local businesses. Treat yourself to their goods and displays and customer service. In doing so, you will help to keep your downtowns vibrant hubs of activity and commerce. You will help to keep our doors open and our spirits up instead of sadly, in the future, lamenting our loss. 

Laurel Eaton

Unity

Editor’s note: The writer owns Violet’s Book Exchange in Claremont.