I was just in Book Mountain which has been operating in SFe primarily as
a paperback exchange since 1980 (just before I moved to the area) and
discovered that the owner, Peggy Frank intends to shut down, probably
sooner rather than later. Here is an article about her move and
rejuvenation of the store a couple of years ago:
https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/business/book-mountain-alive-and-well-in-new-location/article_9003513a-3c8b-11ea-a81e-373351759896.html
The new digs and layout were a modest upgrade from what she had going
before, and has a somewhat wider range of books shelved now, though the
emphasis is still on high-turnover paperback. She has one of the most
extensive collections of Science Fiction I think you fill find this side
of Powells (Portland) or Tattered Cover (Denver).
I probably unloaded 1/4 of my "2 cords of books" leftover from *my*
bookstore (Hunt and Gather circa 2006) on her for trade (my credit is
much too large to begin to drain in the short term).
What I am hoping is that one of her customers or someone in the book
loving circle would swoop in and buy it outright. I have already
talked to some of the other booksellers in town and she has already
approached them offering to sell them her inventory, but the ideal would
be for it to remain a viable business. Her current
setup/inventory/curation works and is by far more valuable than the mere
inventory (which would need to be sorted, shelved, etc. again).
If anyone here knows of anyone suitable for taking on such an operation
I highly recommend it, but I suspect the time is short. Peggy is just
coming out of some health-challenges and I sense she will not be
willing/able to wait very long. I am holding out a slim hope that one
of the other used-sellers in SFe might pick it up as a satellite (Op Cit
already has had multiple locations).
In any case, spread the word if you can. Maybe there is a coop model
or multiple-partner arrangement that might keep it going and help Peggy
leave the business cleanly/gracefully.
- Steve
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