By Tim Angerame
Staff Writer
Borders bookstore in Randhurst Mall is going to close its doors after it sells its last item. The store was well-known for its café and its late-night release parties. The company had filed for bankruptcy earlier this year and according to the Chicago Sun-Times, Borders has already closed 200 of its 642 stores nationwide.

Many students at Prospect will miss the store. Senior Tori Shields remembers when she and her friends would drink coffee at the store’s café and sit and read on the stairs inside.

“We would spend hours there,” Shields said.

Some students have speculated as to why Borders has undergone trouble. Senior Blair Heidkamp said competitors like Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com cater more to the college demographic with textbooks in stock, something she calls “an advantage that Borders never had.” She also claimed that she liked Border’s because it catered to the independent reader, individuals who didn’t buy books in bulk.

Shields blames the rise of the eBook, an electronic device that allows people to download books wirelessly rather than buying them at a store.

The Chicago Sun-Times has attributed Borders financial trouble to “big debts, declining sales, increasing competition and missed payments to vendors…”

The Randhurst Borders was not available for comment. Even though Borders as a company is going through financial trouble, the branch in Schaumburg is reported to remain open. Despite the trouble, many students still feel loyal to Border’s. “I hate Barnes and Noble,” said Shields. “It just doesn’t feel the same.”