University Press Books, Berkeley, Calif., which "has struggled financially for years despite trying many different approaches to stay in business," has closed after 46 years "of serving up an array of books from university presses around the globe, and hosting thousands of author talks, book clubs and gatherings," Berkeleyside reported. The bookstore had struggled for years to pay its $10,000 monthly rent and saw sales decline with the rise of Amazon, but the Covid-19 virus was the final straw. Its sister business next door, the Musical Offering Café, is still open.
"Before the virus and the shuttering of the store we were suffering from the crushing burden of this rent for a space that was much bigger than we needed. [The pandemic] provoked a realistic decision to close an operation we couldn't afford to run," said William McClung, a founder and the general partner of both businesses.
While the physical bookstore is closed, McClung said that UPB will move most of its 30,000 books, an inventory worth $300,000, to Wilsted and Taylor Publishing Services, one of the store's original partners, on 40th Street in Oakland. In addition to beefing up its ability to sell books online, UPB will sell the rare titles as well as scholarly collections it has acquired in recent years.
McClung said UPB will also move some books next door to the Musical Offering Café. In about a year, he hopes to find a new, smaller space in Berkeley, one with a much lower rent. "There are, and there are going to be, lots of vacancies," he said.
When University Press Books launched in 1974, "it was a novelty of sorts, and McClung has tried to apply that innovative spirit to the business over the years, with mixed results," Berkeleyside wrote, adding that initially, 25 people had formed a partnership and raised $35,000 to set up a store devoted just to books published by English-language university presses, but over the years, "the store expanded its inventory to stock titles from general presses. It increased its cultural offerings too and hosted numerous author talks, book groups, movies and classes, as well as dinners centered around a book or topic where guests might read a poem. It also rented the store out for popup events." These efforts, as well as many other initiatives, were not enough to keep the bookstore going in its present location.