The Book Room was an

independent bookstore An independent bookstore is a retail bookstore which is independently owned. Usually, independent stores consist of only a single actual store (although there are some multi-store independents). They may be structured as sole proprietorships, cl ...

located on

Barrington Street View southward on Barrington StreetBarrington Street is a major street in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, running from the MacKay Bridge in the North End approximately 7 km south, through Downtown Halifax to Inglis Street in the South End. Its ...

in downtown

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

. Founded in 1839, at the time of its closing in March 2008, The Book Room was Canada’s oldest bookstore, and the largest non-chain bookstore in Eastern Canada. The shop acted as an important cultural centre for the local book community, offering support for local authors. When announcing The Book Room’s imminent demise, its president, Charles Burchell, noted that the shop had "survived two World Wars, the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and economic ups and downs over its 169 year history", only to be shuttered by retail and economic shifts including online ordering and dual pricing schemes which render books more expensive in Canada than in the USA.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Book Room, The Defunct retail companies of Canada Companies based in Halifax, Nova Scotia Independent bookstores of Canada Retail companies established in 1839 Retail companies disestablished in 2008 1839 establishments in Nova Scotia Canadian companies disestablished in 2008