April 24, 2019
Penn Book Center/Google Maps
Penn Book Center, one of the city's oldest indie book stores, is closing in May.
News that the independently-run Penn Book Center would close after 57 years in business on 34th Street near the University of Pennsylvania didn't go over so well.
The shop's owners announced on April 9 that online retailers have made selling books in a brick-and-mortar store increasingly difficult — as a result they would permanently close the shop's doors in late May.
The news circulated through the literary community, becoming something of a battle cry; as the Penn Book Center is one of the last of its kind in the Philadelphia, a hub where writers and readers joined for dozens of literary events annually.
Since the announcement, protesters and petitions have asked for the University of Pennsylvania to step in and save the store.
After the shop's owners said they are open to offers to sell the store, community members asked Penn and university president Amy Gutman to intercede and create an effective business model that will sustain the Penn Book Center.
This week, more than two dozen people gathered for a demonstration on campus in support of the university's involvement in sustaining PBC. Protestors held signs like, "Amazon Kills, read locally."
FANTASTIC first day of protests to help save @PennBookCenter!! Thanks to all who came out (also 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼to director of pedagogy @raenashirali for outfit) pic.twitter.com/5XNaCgOKvO
— Blue Stoop (@bluestoopphl) April 22, 2019
Poetic protest still going today! Come out to the Button at College Green at 12pm to Save @PennBookCenter ! @PennEnglish @dailypenn @bluestoopphl https://t.co/koOosgb7Eb pic.twitter.com/RkaMEWWRiq
— Nick Millman (@n_millman) April 23, 2019
PENN BOOK CENTER WE LOVE YOU GET UP (srsly, sign this petition to keep a longtime & much-beloved local indie bookstore open) 🖊 https://t.co/mjoqpSnIn1
— bedfellows magazine (@bedfellowsmag) April 12, 2019
A petition was created after the announcement, too, asking for the university to "find a way to help sustain this small but vital corner of our campus." As of Wednesday, more than 4,500 people had signed it.
"This closure would mean an immeasurable loss to Penn’s intellectual community and to that of the surrounding University City neighborhood," the petition states.
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