This Ain’t the Rosedale Library closes after speculation
It looks like the curtain has closed on This Ain’t the Rosedale Library—for now, at least. In a blog post explaining that a last-ditch proposal to their landlord was rejected late last week, owners Charlie and Jessie Huisken announced, “The store has no future at this [Kensington Market] location.” While there was initial talk of a fundraiser in the days after the bookstore was locked up and branded with a bailiff’s notice, the Huiskens are now saying, “At this point, a fundraiser could only be a Pyrrhic victory.” They assure supporters that they’ve exhausted all their current options but haven’t lost hope that “the store may re-emerge in the long-term.”
In the meantime, the two offer this advice to Torontonians mourning the loss of yet another indie bookstore:
While we are open to suggestions, we are hoping that our own unfortunate case might offer others the opportunity to seriously consider the factors which combine to make creating and running a bookstore such a challenge in North America. Predatory pricing of Amazon, inflated rents in urban centers, remaindering of excessive print-runs demanded by big-box stores and corporate publishing have had a devastating effect on smaller entrepreneurs. We are still of the feeling that without big changes the best and most satisfying way to support indies is to explore the stores in your city, browse their selection, trust your own curiosity, and buy gift certificates if nothing suits you.
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It looks like the curtain has closed on This Ain’t the Rosedale Library—for now, at least. In a blog post explaining that a last-ditch proposal to their landlord was rejected late last week, owners Charlie and Jessie Huisken announced, “The store has no future at this [Kensington Market] location.” While there was initial talk of a fundraiser in the days after the bookstore was locked up and branded with a bailiff's notice, the Huiskens are now saying, “At this point, a fundraiser could only be a Pyrrhic victory.” They assure supporters that they’ve exhausted all their current options but haven’t lost hope that “the store may re-emerge in the long-term.”
In the meantime, the two offer this advice to Torontonians mourning the loss of yet another indie bookstore:
While we are open to suggestions, we are hoping that our own unfortunate case might offer others the opportunity to seriously consider the factors which combine to make creating and running a bookstore such a challenge in North America. Predatory pricing of Amazon, inflated rents in urban centers, remaindering of excessive print-runs demanded by big-box stores and corporate publishing have had a devastating effect on smaller entrepreneurs. We are still of the feeling that without big changes the best and most satisfying way to support indies is to explore the stores in your city, browse their selection, trust your own curiosity, and buy gift certificates if nothing suits you.
• A second update to our situation [TATRL blog]){kind=link}