HIGHLAND | Miles Books first opened in Dyer in 1984 before moving to downtown Highland five years later.
Not long after, Barnes & Noble opened in Hobart while another chain bookstore, Borders, did the same in Highland. Today those big book sellers are gone while Miles closes in on nearly 30 years in business.
Diane Roumbos, who owns Miles Books with her husband, Jim, said she was "shocked" upon hearing that Borders was closing its stores.
"We had heard rumblings about it," she said. "I feel for all of the people who lost their jobs."
Diane Roumbos said when they learned in 1995 Borders was coming to Highland they began taking used books on consignment "to see how it would do."
"We wanted to see if we could still be in the book business but it would have to be used books because it's very difficult to coexist with a big chain store," she said.
Before Borders entered the scene, Roumbos said they visited the new Barnes & Noble store in Hobart.
"It was unbelievable," she said. "It was a beautiful, impressive store. And then Borders came. Knowing they were coming we changed our business from an all–new bookstore to almost all used. I couldn't compete on their terms."
Nevertheless Roumbos said they coexisted just fine.
"Many times someone needed something right away and I referred them," she said. "It's all about helping the customer."
Roumbos said about 3 to 5 percent of the store's inventory is new books.
"We order anything that anybody needs from anywhere in the world, new or used. We also ship anywhere except those countries where there is a problem with the government," she said.
Miles Books does a lot of business via Internet sites such as DexKnows and with other small bookstores around the country.
"Unless another big chain comes in to replace Borders, I would think there could be a re–emergence of small independent stores," Roumbos said.