Svoboda’s not closing

CORRECTION: Svoboda’s Books is not going out of business, contrary to an article in yesterday's print version of The Daily Collegian.

The independent bookstore on 227 W. Beaver Ave. did well last month, and Svoboda’s is even negotiating a possible merger and change of location, store manager Tony Sanfilippo said.

“We’re doing everything we can to keep this store open,” he said. “We get great community support.” In December 1998, when a Collegian reporter interviewed Svoboda’s manager Tony Sanfilippo, the store’s outlook was bleak, Sanfilippo said.

The store owed about $60,000 in loans. Owner Michael Svoboda wanted his name off the loans, and Sanfilippo struggled to find a way to pay the money back.

At the time, Svoboda’s had about $600,000 worth of books, which could have been liquidated to pay off the loans. But that would have depleted inventory too drastically, Sanfilippo said.

Happily, the situation has changed during the past two months, and store employees are confident they’ll pull through. Sanfilippo is talking to a local bank that wants to invest in the business and assume Svoboda’s debt.

More good news came Wednesday night, when Svoboda’s people met with officials from a used bookstore in town. The two businesses may merge, and along with a local caterer, move to a new space — possibly the Danks building lot on South Allen Street — and start a new books-and-coffee cooperative to rival Barnes & Noble superstore near the Nittany Mall.

Barnes & Noble’s intended purchase of Ingram Book Company hasn’t made life easier for Svoboda’s employees, but it won’t put any independent bookstore out of business, Sanfilippo said.

Ingram is a book distributor with nine warehouses across the country. Because it carries books from many different publishers, Ingram is convenient for independent bookstores — place one order to one company and get one shipment.

Svoboda’s has always had an account with Ingram. But when Barnes & Noble announced it would buy Ingram, Sanfilippo felt betrayed. He stopped buying from Ingram as a matter of principle. As a result, he’s had to work much harder to get books, ordering directly from multiple publishers and from a smaller distributor with only two nationwide warehouses.

“If I don’t do business with them, my business becomes less efficient,” Sanfilippo said. “And they’re trying to make money off the independent bookseller.”

Yesterday’s Collegian article brought Svoboda’s supporters out of the woodwork, store volunteer Heidi Hendershott said.

“It’s really solidified that our customers are very loyal to us and will continue to be,” Hendershott said. The upshot: Don’t look for any “Going Out of Business” signs at Svoboda’s. You’ll be disappointed.

-- Jason Fagone