In what is becoming a sad trend, another independent bookstore is closing.  The Happy Bookseller in Columbia, SC, a leader in independent stores for many years, is closing in October.

The following article is from Shelf Awareness:

Sad news about the Happy Bookseller: the Columbia, S.C., bookstore will close in October, according to the State. Owners Andy and Carrie Graves noted two nearby chain stores and increasing online competition and said that they were no longer able to earn a living from the Happy Bookseller. (The couple met at the store after they started working there.)

The Happy Bookseller was founded in 1974 by Rhett Jackson, 83, who is a former American Booksellers Association president and was a founder of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression. His wife, Betty, still works at the store part time. They have long been a force in battling for First Amendment rights. Two years ago they were given a Lifetime Achievement Award by the ABA.