Gwyneth K. Shaw
Labyrinth Books is closing at the end of the month, but its owners are “in the final stages of discussions with another respected independent bookseller” to take over the store, according to a company press release.
The release, sent by owners Dorothea von Moltke and Clifford Simms, said the decision to leave New Haven was about “simplifying the geography of our working and private lives.” Labyrinth opened a store in Princeton, N.J., in 2007, and von Moltke and Simms moved there with their two daughters.
Closing day is set for May 31.
“Our vision as booksellers has always entailed being part of the everyday of any store we own,” they wrote in the release. “A hands-on presence is a condition for our projects to be viable as well as meaningful to us. This involvement is simply not something that we can sustain from a distance.”
Labyrinth, at 290 York St., took over what had been the longstanding Book Haven store in 2005. Like its predecessor, Labyrinth is popular with Yale professors, some of whom send their book lists to the independently-run shop rather than the Barnes & Noble-owned Yale Bookstore.
The release thanks all the store’s customers, but singles out Yale’s students and faculty, whom von Moltke and Simms call “wonderful.”
One of those shoppers is Nicolas Medina (pictured), 20, a Yale philosophy major who stopped in Monday afternoon. Medina said he buys from Labyrinth every couple of months, and especially at the beginning of semesters, because his professors stock their course books there.
Medina said it’s nice to be able to walk over and get a book from Labyrinth rather than have to wait a few days for an online order to arrive. He said he hopes the store finds a buyer.
“The main thing is that you can just get them right away, when you have a paper due or something,” he said.
The store’s press release fires a shot at the corporate and online booksellers, such as Amazon.com, that are often seen as mortal threats to smaller, independent stores.
“We remain certain that the communities of Yale University and the town of New Haven can and will support an alternative to a chain-bookstore and to online book-buying,” von Moltke and Simms wrote. “Yet we also know that in order to have a vibrant local bookstore, you need to be local to where that store is. Our attention is now on Princeton; but we are preparing to pass the baton.”
Books are one thing that should be made available to as many people as possible for as little as money as possible. Amazon.com and chain book stores are good because they offer a wide variety with lower price points. Independent booksellers might be quaint but they are limited as to inventory and price discounts. Labyrinth is a nice store, but their prices cannot compete with amazon.com, barnes and noble, borders, etc.