I wish I could say that the announcement regarding the closing of Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops was a surprise, but I feel that it's merely a casualty of the digital age we now live in. Even Oprah, one of the saviors of the book, threw dirt on the grave with her endorsement of the Amazon Kindle.
We are a Member of OurMilwaukee which is a group designed to support local business and Schwartz was a founding member. To be sure, competition from Barnes and Noble and Borders probably didn't help Schwartz and it would be nice to see more people seek out their bookstores, but it's hard to blame the big boxes on this one.
Perhaps Schwartz had a flawed business model. They operated 4 bookstores so it was difficult to make one a true destination spot like Powell's in Portland. They located their stores (with the exception of the Brookfield store) in non-traditional spots. They took a risk on opening a Bay View location when it was clear to anyone familiar with the area that it wouldn't work.
In any event, the march towards digital media continues. It will not be much longer until the newspaper is not delivered and the CD goes the way of the dodo bird. I thought books might be different. After all a book is a very tangible thing and while the Kindle is a cool looking device I'm not sure how it replaces that feel of holding onto a book. That said, it's been selling like crazy and will continue to be improved.
Two of the stores will remain open under new ownership, but I fear they will only be able to tread water. It's hard to stop the changes in media that have happened.
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