Barnes & Noble could threaten local bookstores

Deborah Sanford has sold books to University students and West Philadelphia community members for 27 years, operating House of Our Own bookstore at 3920 Spruce Street. But now Sanford and other local bookstore owners share concerns that the Barnes & Noble superstore -- scheduled to open at 36th and Walnut streets in the fall of 1998 -- will threaten their small, independent stores. "We have our reservations about the new store coming here," she said. "But our focus is to continue running the best bookstore we can." According to Economics Professor Herbert Large, chain-operated bookstores often attract a significant base of customers, taking away business from smaller, independent book sellers. "In usual areas, bookstores like Barnes & Noble and Borders really do capture a very large part of the book-buying population," he said. Levine added that this competition will not have the same "dramatic" effect in a university neighborhood, where students and community members have more specific needs that cannot always be met by a large bookstore. And Vice President for Business Services Steve Murray explained that the new Barnes & Noble outlet should not affect smaller bookstores which maintain a certain "niche" in the area. "I would doubt they'd be affected at all by the new store," Murray said. "I believe the Penn community has the ability to support multiple bookstores." University administrators hope the new store will create a "sense of excitement" in West Philadelphia that will attract students and community members to the area, according to Carol Scheman, vice president for government, community and public affairs. "At any great university, the bookstore is a center of enormous activity," Scheman said. "We deserve a better bookstore than we have now, and we'll have the best one in the nation." Although Barnes & Noble will manage the new store -- which will be nearly twice the size of The Book Store at 38th Street Locust Walk -- the University will continue to own it. The chain assumed management of The Book Store July 1. But Sanford said she considers it "foolhardy" to expect the new store to have no effect on area bookstores. She noted that University administrators did not inform House of Our Own or the Pennsylvania Book Center -- located at 38th and Walnut streets -- when officials made the decision to construct the new store last May. Scheman explained, however, that "our primary responsibility is to our students and faculty." Pennsylvania Book Center manager Peter Nickles added that his store's relationship with the University "has not been very friendly" during its 30-year tenure on campus. "It seems like the University wants to eliminate some of the competition to make the new bookstore succeed," Nickles said. Many University professors who place orders with local bookstores have also expressed concern about the competition. "I am worried that the new store will have resources that will hurt some of the local bookstores," said History Professor Thomas Sugrue, adding that he expects the new store to become a "magnet" for students and community members. Sugrue said the University has an obligation to preserve the neighborhood's smaller bookstores, since they carry a wide selection of books that customers cannot always find in larger bookstores. "It is in the University's interest to maintain thriving, independent, intellectually-oriented bookstores," he said. English Professor Allen Grove, who has always placed book orders with House of Our Own, said he will continue to do so. "Their survival will depend on the continued loyalty of Penn instructors, professors and students," he said. Some students have already said they look forward to the convenience and savings the new bookstore will provide. "The current bookstore is nothing like what a Barnes & Noble bookstore will be," College senior Angela Shieh said. "I think I would choose to go to a Barnes & Noble store over a smaller store because of the greater selection and lower prices."