The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

Both Upper Valley Mall bookstores slated to close

Girls Gone Wild coming back to Springfield
3:09 p.m.
Level 2 snow emergency in effect, county government offices closed at noon
2:42 p.m.
Paid days off for county employees an issue for commissioners
1:13 p.m.
Grand jury indicts 21
12:05 p.m.
Over 300 jobs expected from grants to Dayton, Springfield companies
11:47 a.m.
> More headlines

By Elaine Morris Roberts, Staff Writer Updated 5:54 PM Tuesday, November 17, 2009

SPRINGFIELD — The two bookstores at the Upper Valley Mall — Waldenbooks and B. Dalton — are slated to close in early 2010, according to the parent companies of both businesses.

If neither is replaced, it will leave Clark County without an independent bookstore. Local options that remain will include the book departments of stores like Wal-Mart, Ollies, Target and Meijer, and stores that focus on used books or comic books.

Borders Group Inc., parent company of Waldenbooks, and Barnes & Noble Inc., parent company of B. Dalton, have announced plans to close their local stores by January of next year.

The announcement will not affect Wittenberg University’s bookstore which is run by Barnes & Noble, said Ryan Maurer, university spokesman.

Corporate leasing agents for the Upper Valley Mall are in negotiations with another bookstore to locate in the space occupied by B. Dalton, said Mall Manager Brenda LaBonte. No details will be available until a deal has been signed.

Talks are underway with a clothing retailer to potentially take over the Waldenbooks space, she said.

The Waldenbooks closure comes as part of an attempt to “right-size” and create a “smaller, more profitable mall chain in fiscal 2010,” according to a company release issued Nov. 5. About 200 Waldenbooks across the country will be closed, which will eliminate approximately 1,500 positions, mostly part-time.

Employees have been informed of the store closure “and efforts will be made to place qualified individuals in other positions within Borders Group. Displaced employees will receive severance,” the company said.

Barnes & Noble will close 50 remaining B. Dalton stores by the end of January 2010, according to Carolyn Brown, company spokesperson.

“These are small format, low volume stores, in malls and their leases are expiring. This is in line with what we’ve been doing over the last eight years, closing 35 to 40 stores per year as their leases expire,” she said in an e-mail.

Brown said some booksellers will be given an option to move to jobs at Barnes & Noble stores if there are locations nearby; others will be given severance packages.

Neither company would reveal numbers of local jobs to be eliminated.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0371 or elroberts@coxohio.com.

Staff writer Kelly Mori contributed to this story.

Share this article

ADD COMMENT

Comments feed

It is terrible to see these book stores go. I shop at Waldenbooks constanly always seeking a new book to read. Seriously though, what makes them think that a christian book store will have any more business? Look at what happened to Logos awhile back. Most people don't read christian books, I know I don't and the books i like, they don't sell at places like Wal-mart. I will now have to drive far out of my way to get books because the Waldenbooks in Fairfield is already gone.

Brandi
2:00 PM, 11/25/2009

REPORT ABUSE

Face facts you speak the truth! Isn't that depressing that our mall amounts to nothing that they need to put in a pool hall, ninja store, and fill up space by calling it The Amazing Space. All of you pro upper valley mall people are sad and need to face facts that our mall is awful. The city of Springfield not only needs to build a better mall but give us a better movie theater. I should live in Beavercreek because I shop,eat, and go to the movies there. Chakeres theaters is awful and disgusting

Mike
5:37 PM, 11/18/2009

REPORT ABUSE

The mall should close and downtown Springfield should back off it's over-burdensome regulatory governing so that retail shops can open there. People in the city would like for Springfield to have a purpose besides tax-collecting and deteriorating.

move downtown
4:14 PM, 11/18/2009

REPORT ABUSE

The Upper Valley started dying a long time ago when the Fairfield Commons Mall opened up. And now that there are other places to shop in Springfield, why would anyone want to go to the mall. It offers nothing.

Maybe the Director of Business Development needs to try to actually develop some business that will pull in shoppers. A pool hall and a ninja store won't do that.

Face Facts
3:49 PM, 11/18/2009

REPORT ABUSE

FYI--the Clark County Public Library IS buying some new books. The library buys a good selection of popular authors and all fiction and non-fiction that appear on the best seller list. Plus, there are shelves upon shelves of older books that are just as good (sometimes better!) than the new stuff. Ask one of the librarians for assistance if you need help going beyond the new books.

avidreader
3:44 PM, 11/18/2009

REPORT ABUSE

There are 66 additional comments

SHOW ALL

We welcome your comments. Please remember this is a public forum and behave appropriately. Your comments must conform to our visitor's agreement.