Melville House Books

In business since 1879, the bookstore at Oxford University, Blackwell’s, is one of the most respected — and beloved — bookstores in the world, and the flagship for a family-owned chain of 61 stores. But the news on Friday that the owners are “considering selling some or all” of the stores has “dismayed” patrons. In an Associated Press wire story by Jill Lawless, one customer, Peter Schadler, a student working on a Ph.D. about “Christian saints views of Islam,” explains, “It would be a real shame if it closed. It’s got the most impressive collection of academic books I’ve seen. One shelf of the Byzantine section has more material than anything I’ve seen in the States. The guy who works in the Classics section has been working here for 40 years. He know every book you could ever want or need.” But Lawless reports, “In recent years, Blackwell’s has had to compete with bigger chains like Waterstone’s and Borders Group Inc., which have transformed British bookselling with large price reductions and multi-buy discounts.” Blackwell’s has also been hurt, says Lawless, by “the growing popularity of online retailers like Amazon.com.” Making the point: customer Schadler admits, “I do use Amazon quite frequently. The sad thing is, I need Blackwell’s to find the books I buy on Amazon. It’s just so much cheaper on Amazon.”

Dennis Johnson is the founder of MobyLives, and the co-founder and co-publisher of Melville House.