Not long after I heard the news, I left work and headed over to Kepler’s to see for myself. There was a small crowd of people mulling around the front door; almost everyone had heard, and like me, seemed to need to come see it for themselves.

This is the sign on the door.

The notice reads:

After 50 years of bookselling in Menlo Park, Kepler’s is going out of business. As much as love what we do and would like to continue another 50 years, we simply cannot. The economic downturn since 2001 has proved to be more from which we can rebound.

Kepler’s has enjoyed the support of the community from our inception in the 1950s through both turbulent and joyful times. We are blessed to have served as your community bookseller for all of those years.

We want to express our heart felt gratitude appreciate to the multitude of people who have loved and supported us over the past half century.

Given that they just had their 50th anniversary, it must be doubly hard to close.

I’ve got a Flickr photoset of other pictures.

This is the second great, independent bookstore the town has lost this year: Wessex Books closed a couple months ago.

I can’t help but wonder, what the Hell happened to make them close so suddenly? What’s going to happen to the inventory? Presumably they’ll have a liquidation sale, or maybe the outrage will be great enough there’ll be some popular response that helps them stay open.

I’ve got to believe that I’m not the only one who would, in exchange for some largely theoretical fractional share of the store, would fork over a few dollars a month to keep the place open. I already buy plenty of books there, but could there be an opportunity here for some user self-organization and investment? Legally, I’m sure it could be made to work in a way that would allow users to invest without making them liable for losses, lawsuits, etc.; and while I don’t want to run a bookstore, I think enough of us value the place as a place to be willing to put up to keep it open. If a thousand people were willing to put in a few dollars a month, that might make the difference.

Technorati Tags: books, Kepler’s Books, menlo park, Silicon Valley

I can’t believe this:

Kepler’s Bookstore goes out of business

Kepler’s, a landmark bookstore and cultural icon of Menlo Park for more than a half century, abruptly closed for good this morning.

“This is it,” owner Clark Kepler told about 40 employees at a 9 a.m. all-staff meeting, shedding tears. Employees were left stunned and reeling from the announcement as Kepler cited financial problems that had built since the dot-com bust of 2001. Some employees cried during Kepler’s short announcement.

I’ve loved Keplers for years. When I was a postdoc here, I spent lots of evenings- and a substantial portion of my insubstantial disposable income- there. More recently I’ve been taking the kids there for Saturday story time.

The place has always been busy and vibrant- just the kind of place that makes a public culture worth participating in- and the speaker series has been outstanding and well-attended.

When a place as good as Keplers is forced to close because of high area rents, it’s a sign that something is profoundly wrong. What’s going to go in there? Upscale clothes? Faux Craftsman home furnishings? Another damned yoga studio?

I think I’ve got to go over there and see it for myself.

Technorati Tags: books, Kepler’s Books, menlo park, Silicon Valley