Karibu Books Closes Doors

The economy is suffering and that's bad news for us all. But it's especially bad for independent bookstores.

Karibu Books was a Maryland-based chain with five locations. I'm guessing that among indies that's considered a large chain. Today, I was surprised to hear about their demise.

You can read the owner's letter here.

I've met some really cool indie bookstore owners and employees, hanging out on the Blueboard. I'm fascinated by their book buying processes and their willingness to sell books the old fashioned way i.e. by recommending them because they've read them.

No disrespect to B&N or Borders, but there's nothing like going into a bookstore and having someone recommend a book because they've read it vs. going off marketing material or publisher hype.

Karibu worked hard to establish itself as a literay community center. I thought they were thriving, though the last time I was in there the shelves were a bit bare.

My relationship with Karibu was bittersweet.

On the positive side, I held a signing at the Bowie Town center location, purchased books from them before and was a speaker at two Black Writer's Guild meetings - who held their meetings there, monthly.

But, Karibu also didn't stock my books, even after I purchased a case for my inaugural signing and held my signing there. So, full disclosure, I had mixed feelings about their ability to meet my "needs" as a local author.

While they did typically carry the books of my fellow Dafina YA authors, their YA section was relatively small. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that it always bothered me that they didn't have at least one or two copies of my book, while the B&N across from them not only stocked my books well, but sold out of them at a consistent pace.

That aside, I'm disappointed that the communities where Karibu had a location, will be losing out on a store that sought to specialize in books by and about African Americans. It seems especially disheartening that they couldn't hold on, at a time when the market for such books is so strong.

I don't know if Amazon is helping to hinder the success of indies or simply that it's the perfect storm combination of Amazon, mega chains and a struggling economy.

But I implore readers to support indies if there are any nearby. I honestly thought, that because Karibu had five locations, it would beat the odds since half the battle with indies is the fact they stand alone. While a B&N and Borders are typically within a few minutes of one another and the consumer, a "close" indie is anything within an hour's drive.

There are no indie bookstores in my area that carry YA. With Karibu gone, the closest indies to me are stores located in Baltimore - a 30-45 minute drive. Not bad, but also not typically one I'll make lightly unless I happen to have free time and want to burn the gas.

You've guessed it - I rarely have that kind of time just lying around and burning gas at these prices is silly, when there's several chain stores within 10-15 minutes of my house.

And while Amazon is great, I choose to buy books from a bricks and mortar location because I know the author makes more off the book that way. I'm funny that way, wanting to help out my fellow scribes.

In the grand scheme of things, fifteen years is a good run when you're talking about battling corporate retail. But it's too bad Karibu couldn't hold on. Their absence will definitely leave a void in the literary community.