http://rutlandherald.com/article/20140629/NEWS02/706299954
Bill Mattoon has operated Black River Used Books in Springfield for 16 years, but that chapter is coming to an end at 5 p.m. Monday. Photo: Photo by Len EmeryPublished June 29, 2014 in the Rutland Herald Black River Used Books’ story is almost over By SUSAN SMALLLHEER Staff Writer SPRINGFIELD — Bill Mattoon will close the doors at his Black River Used Books on Monday evening, ending almost 16 years of selling books about every topic under the sun. Mattoon said he and his wife Linda decided to close the downtown store after the death of a very close friend last fall. He said the store’s closure had nothing to do with the recent ills in downtown Springfield — the drug-related shooting and the arrest last week a few steps from his front door. “The store has paid its bills,” he said Friday as he waited on some customers drawn to the store for its 50-percent-off sale. “We will be open June 30, but June 30 is it.” “I’m going to miss you,” said longtime customer David Avery of Mount Holly, who bought two bags of books and then shook Mattoon’s hand over the counter. Avery said he came to the Springfield bookstore quite often. “I read most everything,” he said. To look at the bookstore, it’s hard to tell the business is closing its doors: the shelves are full and there are stacks of books everywhere. “We’ve got 20,000 books,” Mattoon said. “We will miss Black River Used Books tremendously,” said Carol Lighthall, executive director of the downtown group Springfield On The Move. “Bill and Linda leave big shoes to fill for sure,” she said. “Bookstores today have an uphill climb and need to do things very differently than has been done in the past.” But Lighthall said that she felt the space next to the Jenny Wren Café would be filled, despite many storefront vacancies. “Jenny Wren Café and re: Find (a thrift boutique) provide good synergy to welcome another shop or two,” said Lighthall. Mattoon, a native of Chelsea, retired to Springfield after 30 years with the Navy and Coast Guard , with his final posting in Virginia, where he and Linda started collecting books. By the time they moved to Vermont in 1998, they had 18,000 books, and they’ve been adding — and selling — ever since. Springfield reminded them of an “old European city and we saw huge potential as a tourist attraction,” Mattoon said. The Black River and its many series of waterfalls are beautiful, he said. And he thought Springfield could become the Vermont equivalent of Hay-on-Wye, a small community in Powys, Wales, that is famous for its many used and antiquarian bookstores. “It’s known as the ‘town of books,’” Mattoon said. “Can you imagine if we had 15 to 20 bookstores up and down Main Street here?” he said. Mattoon said that 80 percent of the store’s sales are to people outside Springfield. Mysteries and science fiction books are popular; a few years ago it was true crime, he said. He’s leaned toward a wide-based offering, with children’s books, cookbooks, military and history. He collected books from yard sales, library and estate sales, people selling their parents’ book collections and people bringing books in for credit. Mattoon said he will be open today and Monday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. After that, he will continue to sell online and at book fairs He said while the Kindle and other electronic reading devices have had a big impact on the new-book market, recent studies show that sales of Kindles have peaked. “I love my Kindle. But I want the feel of a book in my hands,” he said. He said he has already donated 110 boxes of books to the Friends of the Library for its upcoming Springfield Town Library Book Sale. On Friday, customers filtered in and out. Most came with a mission, to find some specific books or genres before Mattoon closes his doors. As for finding that rare first edition, Mattoon is ever hopeful. “No, not yet,” he said.
Sorry to see him go. His business added something positive to the downtown.
ReplyDeleteI heard someone say that Black River Used Books was "an oasis in the desert of downtown Springfield." Made sense to me. They will be missed!
ReplyDeleteSorry to say that Black River Used Books, for all its merits, was yet another rather obscure and nondescript vendor on a rather forlorn main street. My guess is that the owner was fortunate to have a military pension to supplement his income from this rather moribund business. He deserves credit for trying, but the fact that “…he thought Springfield could become the Vermont equivalent of Hay-on-Wye, a small community in Powys, Wales, that is famous for its many used and antiquarian bookstores” tends to reveal a lack of due diligence in his research of Springfield and its decades long record of economic and social travails.
ReplyDeleteActually he sold a lot of books on half.com.
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