Goodbye, Borders. How Are Those Independent Booksellers Doing?

PBS went to find out, asking several owners of several of America's most beloved indie bookshops.

From the piece...

City Lights Books, San Francisco
Elaine Katzenberger, Executive Director and Publisher

Now more than ever, we believe that what we do is crucial. We believe that intelligent discourse and unfettered questioning are the foundations for any hope for an engaged citizenry, crucial for democracy and for the health of us all. We've been an independent bookseller and publisher for over 55 years, and the vision that still inspires us was born in a time similar to our own -- a prevailing culture of paranoia and fear -- and City Lights was founded as an attempt to further a robust, informed confrontation with the realities of the time. Providing a place for people to engage with ideas -- and with each other -- is what bookstores, and books themselves, do. We're committed to that mission, and to those who share it.

Like all small businesses, our capacity to continue playing a meaningful role is being challenged in many ways: most obviously by the global downturn in the economy, and by the effects that developing technologies are having on every aspect of our lives, but most powerful is the challenge of a media culture that seems intent on devaluing intelligent discourse in order to increase profits. Our hope lies in the strength of enough people's ability to resist that numbing force, and as long as those people remain committed to a future that's not dictated purely by profit margins, City Lights will survive, and continue to do our part.