Borders Books has gone out of business and is closing down its stores.
What is the world coming to?
I remember when the Borders opened in Frederick, Maryland. It was like heaven for a small town that only knew Wonder Book & Video and a small Walden Books in the mall.
I remember walking in and feeling like a child stepping onto the grounds of Disney World for the first time.
Practically the size of a warehouse, the building was filled with wall-to-wall books. You could find any book you wanted and what they didn't have could be ordered and picked up within days.
Grab a coffee at the store cafe, find a good book, and sit in one of the large, cushy chairs and enjoy. Kids, teens, adults, senior citizens... there was something for everyone at Borders.
No, the books weren't cheap. But you went for the experience, the sense of comraderie and the love of a good book.
I remember begging my parents to take me to Borders and then spending hours just looking at books. Sometimes, my brother and I would drive in together and browse through CDs, DVDs and books whenever we had free time.
My senior year of high school I took an advanced acting class and we'd often be sent to the Micheal's Craft Store right next door to the Borders to get scenery pieces. My classmates and I would quickly go in and get what we needed before sneaking into Borders for a few minutes just to look around.
When my husband and I were plannng our wedding, our DJ and I met up at Borders in the to discuss music with my husband-to-be via Skype. We sat there with coffee in hand, enjoying a nice conversation before using the store's free internet access to call my then fiance from my laptop.
I'm sure I spent a small fortune at Borders. I still have the Borders rewards card on my keychain even though there aren't any Borders stores in the Netherlands. I'm not sure it's going to be easy for me to get rid of the card. Maybe I'll keep it on my keychain for the memories.
Borders stores everywhere are beginning their sales in order to get rid of their stock and close down the stores for good. Sales are starting at 10% and increasing gradually until everything's been sold.
Hopefully, the Borders in my home town will stay open until I get back to visit the end of August so I can say goodbye and take away a few souvenirs.
Someone on Twitter today made a comment that even with the 10% discounts, Borders is still much more expensive than Amazon. And maybe that's why Borders was unable to survive. But it's still sad.
Image: doortoriver, Flickr
© 2011 Tiffany Jansen, writer
