Printers Inc. Bookstore (1978–2001) was an

independent bookstore An independent bookstore is a retail bookstore which is independently owned. Usually, independent stores consist of only a single actual store (although there are some multi-store independents). They may be structured as sole proprietorships, ...

Palo Alto Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

and Mountain View,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, that closed in 2001. ''Printers Inc'' is referenced in

sonnet A sonnet is a fixed poetic form with a structure traditionally consisting of fourteen lines adhering to a set Rhyme scheme, rhyming scheme. The term derives from the Italian word ''sonetto'' (, from the Latin word ''sonus'', ). Originating in ...

s 8.13–8.16 of

Vikram Seth Vikram Seth (born 20 June 1952) is an Indian people, Indian novelist and poet. He has written several novels and poetry books. He has won several awards such as Padma Shri, Sahitya Akademi Award, Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, WH Smith Literary Awar ...

's 1986 novel, '' The Golden Gate.''Seth, Vikram. ''The Golden Gate,'' (New York, Vintage, 1991): 179-180

History

In 1978, five ''

Kepler's Books Kepler's Books and Magazines is an independent bookstore in Menlo Park, California. It was founded on May 14, 1955 by Roy Kepler, a peace activist who had endured multiple internments as a conscientious objector during World War II. Kepler previou ...

'' alumni (including Jeffrey Shurtleff and Anne Leathers) founded ''Printers Inc. Bookstore.'' The original Palo Alto store at 310 California Avenue occupied a former thrift store location. A second store was located at 301 Castro Street in

Mountain View, California Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, the population was 82,376 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Mountain V ...

. ''Printers Inc. Bookstore'' was also a popular destination for

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

students. ''The Printers Inc. Cafe'' originally shared space in the California Avenue branch in Palo Alto and subsequently moved next door. American author

Frances Mayes Frances Mayes (born March 23, 1940) is an American writer. Her 1996 memoir '' Under the Tuscan Sun'' was on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list for over two years and was the basis for the film '' Under the Tuscan Sun''. Biography Frances May ...

describes this history in her 2006 memoir, ''A Year in the World: Journeys of a Passionate Traveller'': In the early 1990s, chain bookstores such as ''

Borders A border is a geographical boundary. Border, borders, The Border or The Borders may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Border'' (1997 film), an Indian Hindi-language war film * ''Border'' (2018 Swedish film), ...

'' and ''

Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. The company operates approximately 600 retail stores across the United States. Barnes & Noble operates mainly through its B ...

'' began to compete with independent bookstores such as ''Printers Inc.'' The rise of

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...

also affected ''Printers Inc.'' and other independent bookstores. Thus, in December 1998, ''Printers Inc.'' announced that it would be closing. The local community protested the closing, however, as the owners began to search for a new partner. In March 1999 ''Printers Inc.'' was resurrected under new management. This management lasted until 2001 when ''Printers Inc. Bookstore'' closed for good. ''The Printers Inc. Cafe'', however, did not close as it is under different management.

Documentary

The 2006 documentary '' Indies Under Fire'' tells the story of ''Printers Inc.'' and other independent bookstores affected by the

new economy The New Economy refers to the ongoing development of the American economic system. It evolved from the notions of the classical economy via the transition from a manufacturing-based economy to a service-based economy, and has been driven by ...

. Director Jacob Bricca stated that he made the documentary after ''Printers Inc''. closed: "I took the tore's closingvery personally ... I grew up in Palo Alto and spent many hours reading and hanging out at ''Printers Inc''. I saw the strong connection the community had to the bookstore and, like others in the film, was very distressed at its closing."

Photographs

Photograph of Printers Inc. Bookstore in Palo AltoPhotographs of Printers Inc. Bookstore
-

Historical Association
Photographs inside Printers Inc. Bookstore

References

External links

Local artist paints history in mural
- ''

The Stanford Daily ''The Stanford Daily'' is the student-run, independent daily newspaper serving Stanford University. ''The Daily'' is distributed throughout campus and the surrounding community of Palo Alto, California, United States. It has published since the ...

'', October 2, 1979.
DIVERSIONS: Browsing through . . .
- ''

'', August 13, 1982.
For Book Lovers Only
- ''

'', September 22, 1983.
Tomes and Texts To Buy or Browse
- ''

'', September 23, 1985.
Local Bookstores
- ''

'', January 1, 1986. {{coord, 37.4274, -122.1444, type:landmark_region:US-CA, display=title Defunct independent bookstores in California Bookstores in the San Francisco Bay Area Buildings and structures in Palo Alto, California History of the San Francisco Bay Area Companies based in Palo Alto, California Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Retail companies established in 1978 Retail companies disestablished in 2001 1978 establishments in California 2001 disestablishments in California Bookstores established in the 20th century Bookstores disestablished in the 21st century

History

Documentary

Photographs

See also

References

External links