Bleak Outlook for NYC's Coliseum Books

Three years ago, Coliseum Books reopened in a location directly across from the main branch of the New York Public Library in midtown Manhattan. Now, the bookstore is in danger of closing for good: On Thursday, September 28, the independent filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Federal District Court.

While recent media reports quoted Coliseum co-owner and co-founder George Leibson as saying that the store will "simply disappear," Leibson told BTW that he's still not "100 percent sure" he is going to close his bookstore. "There's a chance we could stay open -- a white knight could come along. I haven't had a going out of business sale."

Nonetheless, things look bleak. When asked what prompted the bankruptcy filing, Leibson replied, "It's everything," including chain stores and discounters. "It's the buying public and buying habits, interests have changed. Books are no longer the be all and end all." And while Leibson said his problems are similar to those faced by many independent bookstores, he believes that part of the problem was the store's location. "It wasn't residential," he explained.

It was in early February 2003 that Leibson first announced plans to reopen Coliseum Books in a new 10,000-square-foot on New York's 42nd Street.

The store, which had been at its original 57th Street and Broadway location for 27 years, was an independent bookselling institution. When it closed in January 2002 after its lease expired and the landlord increased the rent, the news reverberated throughout the literary community. Leibson and bookstore veteran Irwin Hersch officially reopened Coliseum in May 2003 with many of the original store's 80 staff members, along with the fixtures and 100,000 titles. --David Grogan