Paul J. Weber, Associated Press Writer

LAREDO, Texas (AP):

The final chapter has been written for the lone book store on the streets of Laredo, a city with a population of nearly a quarter-million people that could soon be the largest in the United States without a single bookseller.

The situation is so grim that schoolchildren have pleaded for a reprieve from next month's planned shutdown of a B. Dalton book store. After that, the nearest store will be 150 miles (241 kilometres) away in San Antonio.

The B. Dalton store was never a community destination with comfy couches and an espresso bar, but its closing will create a literary void in a city with a high illiteracy rate. Industry analysts and book associations could not name a larger American city without a single bookseller.

"Corporate America considers Laredo kind of the backwater," said the city's most prolific author, Jerry Thompson, a professor at Texas A&M University International who has written more than 20 books.

Reputation at stake

Many also feel that the stigma of not having a book store hurts Laredo's reputation.

Outsiders, even other Texans, do not always distinguish between "los dos Laredos," (the two Laredos) the relatively peaceful city in Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, across the border in Mexico, which has been wracked by drug-war violence.

Since the closing was announced, book lovers in Laredo have flocked to the small store located between City Trendz ("Laredo's No. 1 Underground Hip Hop Shop") and a store that offers US$4 indoor go-kart rides to stock up on their favourite titles.

Schoolchildren even wrote letters to the parent company, Barnes & Noble, begging for the store to stay open.

"Without that store, my life would be so sad and boring," wrote a fifth-grader named Bryanna Salinas, who signed her name with a heart.

More to be closed

The Laredo store is among 49 remaining B. Daltons that Barnes & Noble will close by next year.

The company believes a book store is viable in Laredo and has identified a location for a large-format Barnes & Noble, but the space will not be available for at least 18 months, said David Deason, Barnes & Noble vice-president of development.

In the meantime, without a single independent bookseller, Laredo may be in a league of its own among big cities.

Laredo is surrounded by nothing more than rural ranching towns on its side of the border.

Some worry that the closing could send a message that books and reading are not priorities in Laredo, a hot, steamy city of 230,000 that is choked by smog from trucks lining up at the border, which is home to America's biggest entry point for trucks and trains.

Nearly half of the population of Webb County, which includes Laredo, lacks basic literacy skills, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Fewer than one in five city residents has a college degree, and about 30 per cent of the city lives below the poverty level, according to the 2000 census.

Laredo residents can still purchase books online, but civic leaders fear that without a book store, many residents will not have the opportunity to buy books.

Some book store supporters are undaunted.

Maria Soliz, Laredo Public Library director, is leading the charge to get a book store back. The city's library system was already planning to open two more branches over the next two years to meet demand. That is in addition to the two-story main library painted in bold, Mexican-inspired colours that serves about 400,000 visitors annually.

Profitable but ...

"It's not reflective of the city that they're closing," Soliz said. "I know this city can support a book store."

Deason said the Laredo store is profitable, but its profits are not significant when factoring in the expenses of running a chain that's being phased out.

Book store customers tend to be well educated and to have disposable income, said Michael Norris, an analyst with Simba Information. But that demographic is hardly what makes or breaks the business, he said.

A book store is "either the cultural centre in its community, or it's a pile of books with a roof over it", Norris said.