Borders is closing 200 Waldenbooks in January. Ours could be among them.

Amazon is no substitute (yes, I buy from them both for professional and personal purchases), and in some cases (e.g., a book my wife just bought me on Agent Orange) it's bought by Amazon from another bookseller.

Moreover, you certainly don't think Amazon has huge warehouses full of books and stuff, do you? Amazon acts as a middleman, ordering the books (for example) from Baker and Taylor, Ingram, or another one of the Gargantuan book warehousers (just as libraries do). Amazon can offer a markdown of 40% or give you free shipping because they get a larger discount (perhaps 50%, perhaps more). Your local public library probably gets a NOMINAL 40% discount -- as you can -- and I say "nominal" because not all books are or can be discounted as deeply as, say, Harry Potter. Books on, say, quantum mathematics, have a much more limited audience and generally cost more to produce.

Support your local bookstores. An independent will bounce every dollar (pound, yen, franc, mark) around about six time before it leaves your town; a chain will bounce it around the local economy about 4.3 times. (No, I'm NOT making these figures up!) Buy from Amazon or off the Web and the money bleeds out immediately.

Your choice...and we buy at local bookstores whenever possible.