Borders bookstore files bankruptcy, DeKalb branch will close

By Drew Veskauf

The Borders bookstore in DeKalb will close its doors within the next several weeks.

The DeKalb branch, 2520 Sycamore Road in DeKalb, along with about 200 other locations, will close after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday. These branches account for 30 percent of Borders stores nationwide.

Chapter 11 protection will free the company from creditor lawsuits while it reorganizes its financial situation, unless future court rulings say otherwise.

According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, Borders took measures to confront the issue of online-only bookstores during the past year. These steps included an overhaul to their website as well as the creation of a new digital bookstore.

The company also focused on identifying stores that are unproductive for closure.

With digital reading devices such as the Kindle, Nook and iPad on the rise, physically printed books and their brick and mortar stores have taken a financial hit.

To compete with other e-reader devices, Borders introduced the Kobo e-reader June 17, 2010. Even though the product is not Borders exclusive, consumers are able to purchase it on the Borders website along with books to load onto it, according to an article on The Wall Street Journal .

The Kobo runs for $139 which ties with the Amazon Kindle for being one of the cheapest e-readers to purchase in comparison with Barnes and Nobles’ Nook priced at $149, the Sony Reader Daily Edition at $299, and the iPad starting at $499.