Barnes & Noble To Close More Stores

Do you still go to Barnes & Noble bookstores?

Apparently not enough people do nationwide.

Company executives told the Wall Street Journal they plan to close 20 stores a year over the next decade.

No specific stores have been targeted yet for closure.

In the East Bay, there are five Barnes & Noble stores. They are in   Emeryville, El Cerrito and Pleasant Hill.

The Fremont location closed in 2010, leaving only a Half Price Books and several independent retailers in the area.

If no new Barnes and Noble stores were opened, that would reduce the number of Barnes & Noble stores nationwide by a third, the Huffington Post reported.

Since 2003, the company has been closing 15 stores a year, but they've also been opening more than 30 a year.

Last year, however, Barnes & Noble closed 14 stores and didn't open any, the Huffington Post reported.

Rival bookstore chain Borders also struggled, filing for bankruptcy in 2011 and closing hundreds of stores nationwide, including the one in Union City and Fremont.

One reason for the faltering of the bookstore giants is a steady decline in book sales. Print book sales have decreased 22 percent over the past five years, according to Nielsen BookScan.

If your Barnes & Noble closed, would you miss it? How can bookstores compete more effectively in this electronic age? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.