{"id":2608,"date":"2009-12-21T06:53:43","date_gmt":"2009-12-21T11:53:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthe8spot.com\/?p=2608"},"modified":"2009-12-21T06:53:43","modified_gmt":"2009-12-21T11:53:43","slug":"repostlaredo-could-be-largest-us-city-without-bookstore-yahoo-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/onthe8spot.com\/index.php\/2009\/12\/21\/repostlaredo-could-be-largest-us-city-without-bookstore-yahoo-news\/","title":{"rendered":"rePost::Laredo could be largest US city without bookstore – Yahoo! News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Laredo<\/a> could be largest US city without bookstore<\/strong>
\nBy PAUL J. WEBER, Associated Press<\/a> Writer Paul J. Weber, Associated Press Writer \u2013 Wed Dec 16, 4:37 pm ET
\nLAREDO, Texas \u2013 The final chapter has been written for the lone bookstore on the streets of Laredo.
\nWith a population of nearly a quarter-million people, this city could soon be the largest in the nation without a single bookseller.
\nThe situation is so grim that schoolchildren have pleaded for a reprieve from next month’s planned shutdown of the B. Dalton bookstore. After that, the nearest store will be 150 miles away in San Antonio<\/a>.
\nThe B. Dalton store was never a community destination with comfy couches and an espresso bar, but its closing will create a literary void in a city with a high illiteracy rate. Industry analysts and book associations could not name a larger American<\/a> city without a single bookseller.
\n“Corporate America considers Laredo kind of the backwater,” said the city’s most prolific author<\/a>, Jerry Thompson, a professor at Texas A&M University<\/a> International who has written more than 20 books.
\nSince the closing was announced, book lovers in Laredo have flocked to the small store located between City Trendz (“Laredo’s No. 1 Underground Hip Hop Shop”) and a store that offers $4 indoor go-kart<\/a> rides to stock up on their favorite titles.
\nSchoolchildren even wrote letters to the parent company<\/a>, Barnes & Noble<\/a>, begging for the store to stay open.
\n“Without that store, my life would be so sad and boring,” wrote a fifth-grader named Bryanna Salinas, who signed her name with a heart.
\nvia Laredo could be largest US city without bookstore – Yahoo! News<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is sad. I hope the new store opens earlier than planned!<\/p>\n

\"Reblog<\/a>