The Jeff bookshop to close: In lieu of buyer, landmark begins its final chapter

By Scott Merzbach
Staff Writer

Published on October 24, 2008

A bookstore that has anchored the downtown business scene for more than 70 years could be closing its doors in the coming weeks.

Howard Gersten, who with wife Joy has owned the Jeffery Amherst Bookshop since 1978, said Tuesday that he was unable to find a buyer for the store, despite placing an advertisement in June, and is now anticipating beginning the process of closing.

"We couldn't find the right person to buy the store, so Joy and I decided to retire," Gersten said.

Gersten, who is almost 79, said he and his wife have already worked well past the ages that many people call it a career.

A half-price sale to begin selling stock is scheduled to begin Monday.

The possible closing of "the Jeff," as the store is familiarly known in Amherst, will be a loss to residents, said Cinda Jones, president of the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce.

"The Gerstens to this community have been so much more than booksellers," Jones said. "They've enriched our community by strengthening our libraries and promoting community assets like our history and our authors."

Bonnie Isman, director of the Jones Library, said the Gerstens have been vital in terms of the support they've given the Jones and those who love to read books.

"They've been such a pillar of literary life here. I hate to see them go," Isman said.

Gersten said his shop has been noted for its selection of Emily Dickinson works and literature about Amherst's most famous poet. The Dickinson section, in fact, is so extensive that Isman said visitors to the Jones who want to learn more about the Belle of Amherst are often referred to the Jeffery Amherst Bookstore to get more books and materials. This specialization has also been recognized by the numerous tourists who come to Amherst to visit the Emily Dickinson Museum.

In addition, the bookstore is appreciated for its children's section. Gersten credits his wife, who uses her experience as a school librarian in New Jersey, for making this part of the store so exceptional, and helping to give the store its reputation.

"We built it up into a terrific bookstore that we think is one of the best in New England," Gersten said.

Opened by Amherst College alumnus Paul French in 1937 at the corner of Amity and South Pleasant streets, the bookstore moved to its current site, in the same block as Hastings, another longtime store, in the 1960s.

In the late 1980s, the Gerstens expanded by opening the Jeffery Amherst College Bookstore in a building to the rear that once housed offices, providing more space to enhance the relationship with professors at the University of Massachusetts and Amherst College.

"We worked closely with townspeople, teachers and students, not only at UMass and Amherst College, but the local public and private schools," Gersten said.

The store has also held hundreds of book-signing events featuring local authors, which Gersten said is easy to do because of the many writers and poets living in the Pioneer Valley.

Customers, colleagues

For Katie George, of Dana Street, Jeffery Amherst Bookstore has been meaningful to her family in multiple ways. She said it was important to the upbringing of her children, it was a place where each member of the family could buy gifts and it was the store through which her husband, a faculty member at Amherst College, would order his textbooks. She also considers the Gerstens friends.

"It will be a horrible loss," George said. "They're into service and cheer like very few bookstores."

George said the Gerstens are knowledgeable about books and know their customers, and instill this great service in their staff, as well.

Scottie Faerber, of Station Road, said she is devastated by the potential loss of the independent bookseller and is left wondering where she will shop. "We buy all our books from them," Faerber said.

In her 31 years going to the store at least once a week, Faerber observes that the Gerstens would always find a way to get her any book, whether it took five minutes of five months.

"It's a personal relationship with them," Faerber said. "They are just so wonderful. I wish them the best."

Jones is also a regular customer who credits the store with weaning her off shopping for books on the Internet. Jones said she could order any book and have it hand-delivered by Gersten to her office.

"This kind of customer service and proprietor relationship is what sets Jeffery Amherst apart from the Amazons and the Borders," Jones said.

Gersten noted that this service extended to a reading group at the Applewood housing development, where each month he would bring the new books directly to the participants.

Fellow independent bookstore owner Nat Herold, who runs Amherst Books on Main Street and has been selling books in Amherst since 1981, said the closing of Jeffery Amherst will leave a hole in town.

"It's a sad day for independent bookstores," Herold said. "The Jeff has been a great supporter of the town, events and the libraries."

The Jones is one entity that has depended on the Jeffery Amherst Bookstore. Each year, on the first Saturday in December during Card Day, 10 percent of the proceeds from purchases would be donated to the Friends of the Jones Library. Isman said The Friends, in turn, would use this to support purchase of new materials for the library and to sponsored a variety of children's programming, book discussions and weekly community gatherings such as "Sing With Your Baby."

The store built a similar relationship with the W.E.B. Du Bois Library at UMass, and also received orders from that library once a week.

Independents

Whether its closing is indicative of the state of independent booksellers is unclear, though Gersten acknowledged that stores like his have been facing more challenges.

"It's been a rough go for independent bookstores these days because of the tremendous competition from the Internet and big-box chain stores like Barnes & Noble," Gersten said.

Gersten said that when he first came to Amherst, the Route 9 commercial strip in Hadley was not taking as many shoppers away from downtown. But with the growth of the malls, and specifically the addition of a Barnes & Noble Booksellers at Mountain Farms Mall, the pressure has been building.

"It's been a really difficult world for independent booksellers," said Herold, who suspects that his store might benefit a small amount from Jeffery Amherst Bookstore closing.

But one theory states that having three independent booksellers, which also includes Food for Thought Books, is actually helpful to each as a draw for customers.

A committed independent bookseller can still succeed in Amherst, Gersten said, because it is community where people are still passionate about reading books, or at least buying them.

"Amherst has a very unique advantage as a college town," Gersten said.

The closing will mean the loss of employment for six full-time employees and several part-time employees, all of whom Gersten said should be able to successfully move on.

Gerstens intend to stay in Amherst in retirement. "We love it here. We're tied to the community," Gersten said.

They will continue to go to Hampshire Fitness Club and attend local sporting events, as they are season-ticket holders for UMass basketball games and also attend all UMass softball games.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.