DeKalb has not had a bookstore for the past two years aside from Village Commons Bookstore, but that changed on Wednesday when Book World opened its doors.

Director of store operations Gregg Belonger said Book World, 858 W. Lincoln Highway, has come to DeKalb largely because of public interest.

“There’s lot of interest from the community,” Belonger said. “We have gotten numerous requests from a few different people, and after about a year [and] a lot of research, we decided it was the right fit.”

Residents and public officials have voiced their concern about the lack of bookstores in DeKalb.

The most recent closure was on Dec. 31, 2014, when Barnes and Noble, previously located at 2439 Sycamore Road, closed its doors.

“It’s unacceptable in my mind to have a university town without a Barnes-and-Noble-type bookstore in the setting,” said Mayor John Rey during a Student Association Senate meeting on Nov. 16, 2014.

Students have also expressed their interest in the bookstore.

“As an English major, I read books all the time for fun and for class, and it would be great to have another location to get them,” said senior English major Jessica Bell. “I’d like there to be a comfortable atmosphere [in Book World]. Someone in there who you can speak to about books.”

Since 2002, DeKalb has been home to Barnes and Noble, The Junction Bookstore, previously located at 822 W. Lincoln Highway, and Borders, previously located at 2520 Sycamore Road, according to a Feb. 11, 2015 Northern Star article. All stores have since closed.

“Borders, the whole company just went bankrupt, so that’s the reason they left,” Belonger said. “What we have been told [is that] Barnes and Noble left [because] whoever owned that building tried to drastically increase their rent, and they said ‘no’ and left.”

The Junction Bookstore closed shortly after Barnes and Noble opened, according to a Feb. 21, 2002 Northern Star article.

Book World has been working hard for its grand opening this week, Belonger said. It took three months to fully prepare the store, from carpeting to shelving stock.

Michael Scott, store manager of Book World, said he is excited about the store’s decision to open in DeKalb and its appeal to students and residents.

“We’ve already seen a lot of interest just in people walking by and looking in and knocking on the door asking questions,” Scott said. “So, like Greg [Belonger] said, there is a lot of excitement in the community to actually have a bookstore here again.”

Book World sells tobacco products at its other locations, but will not offer them in DeKalb. The store will not be selling textbooks, but they are available on its website.

Regional manager Troy Derrer said Book World will carry a variety of products including adult books, gaming books, all the genres of fiction and children’s literature.

What shocked the management of Book World was the feedback from the community, Derrer said.

“Most of the people contacted us,” Belonger said. “Numerous people wanted a bookstore in town and they were trying to get us information. If you look at our Facebook page, it’s phenomenal. I mean the amount of people making comments that they’re so happy a bookstore is going to be back in town.”

Scott said the Facebook page had more than 2,200 likes within three weeks, a record for the company.

“The number of likes blew us away,” Derrer said. “Our top store has about 250 [likes].”

NIU authors have been reaching out to management to arrange in-store events. One author has already spoken to them about a reading, Derrer said.

Derrer said local authors should come out to display their work if they would like to work with Book World.

“We want to meet as many people in the community as possible,” Scott said. “We want to get to know them by name. It’s just the part of the culture of Book World. [We’re] very community centric in that way.”