Their worst competitors, they say, are hundreds of miles away from the Square, yet just a click away online.

Kramer says that for Harvard Bookstore, the online competition poses a significant threat. He says that many of his customers are “people who are used to using the internet.”

“It’s a challenge for us to deal with,” he says.

And for niche bookstores, like Grolier and Schoenhof’s—which have traditionally found their customers by selling books that can’t be found anywhere else in the area—online megastores provide competition where there was little before.

“We know the competition is out there,” says Schoenhof’s Assistant Manager Hunt. “We know that students use the competition to buy their books. We have been hit here and there by the technology that has enabled customers to find books elsewhere.”

But Kramer says the Harvard Bookstore has acclimated to the online competition.

“The online competition has kind of leveled off,” Kramer says.

And like Grolier, many Square bookstores have launched their own websites where customers can buy online.

“Our internet website boosted business,” Hunt says. “It has connected us with customers who might not have known about us otherwise.”

Hope for the Future

Square booksellers say they think the services they provide—full stocks of specialty books and well-trained staff who are experts on the material—contribute to their survival.

Hunt says Schoenhof’s still has “a loyal clientele” that shop at the store regularly in part because of its qualified employees.

“We have an able staff who know how to find books and know the books and know how to work with people,” Hunt says.

He says a student searching recently for the only grammar book on a certain language in India was “ecstatic” to find the book at Schoenhof’s. He says the store is unique because it carries such a large collection of books on specific topics.

“Our classics collection is stupendous,” Hunt says. “We have books that you can’t find elsewhere. I still walk around and will feel some awe at the books we have.”