Canada’s Oldest Book Store (The Book Room) is Closing
contact February 10th, 2008
From The Book Room:
“The Book Room will be closing its retail bookstore on Barrington Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Over the next few weeks The Book Room will begin an orderly shutdown of its retail store and dispose of its inventory by the end of March. However, the wholesale operation will continue.
The management and staff of The Book Room wish to thank its loyal customers, as well as the publishers and suppliers, the authors and many friends in the strong book community both in Halifax and throughout Canada whom we are proud to have served and privileged to have been part of. The store was founded in 1839 and is the “Oldest Bookstore in Canada”.
Mr Burchell said: “Changing times and market conditions have necessitated our decision. The coming of big-box-bookstores with their large inventory at discount prices; the expansion of books into grocery and drugstores; the ease of ordering books at discount prices over the internet and the dual pricing of books with higher selling prices in Canada than in the United States have made operating a profitable independent bookstore in Canada extremely difficult. I am very disappointed to make this announcement as The Book Room has been an institution in Nova Scotia. The bookstore has survived two World Wars, the Halifax Explosion, the Great Depression and many economic ups and downs over its 169 year history. It is the end of an era, one which I am proud and privileged to have been part of during my 42 years with the bookstore.”
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