RUNNING FOR THE BORDERS READERS, OFFICIALS WELCOME NEW STORE.

Byline: Rachel Uranga Staff Writer

SIMI VALLEY - It's been more than five years since this suburban town of 117,000 has had a mainstream bookstore, crimping the style of book lovers like Christina Humphreys, who shopped Costco for her book club's titles.

So the grand opening this weekend of Borders Books at Tapo Canyon Road and Alamo Street has been cause for celebration.

``We have been counting the days,'' said Humphreys, leader of the Literazzi book club, which meets at the Simi Valley Library, across from the new Borders. ``After the meeting, we are all running across the street to go to the bookstore.''

As club leader and resident of a town without a vibrant book culture, she often finds herself basing the group's monthly selection on what's available at the Washington-based Costco or at a local discounter.

``It's been a struggle getting books,'' she said.

``We had one person who made a trip to Thousand Oaks to go out and get a book because so many of our group are seniors (unable to drive),'' said Humphreys, who had already visited the chain twice since it opened quietly after Thanksgiving.

``It's kind of been a big deal,'' she said. ``Now we can go into a bookstore and just browse.''

Brian Gabler, the city's economic development director, said the bookstore has not only been a boon for book lovers, but also for the city's image.

``It turned the corner for us,'' he said.

After the closure of B. Dalton booksellers, the city tried but failed for years to bring in a national chain, like Borders or Barnes & Noble. Such chains are viewed by city developers much like Starbucks was in the late '90s - as a symbol the city had arrived as a sophisticated suburb with full amenities.

``Anytime you bring in a Barnes & Noble and Borders, other retailers take notice of the community. If it's good for one, it's good for the other,'' Gabler said.

And since Borders moved in, the city has been fielding more calls from big-name retailers interested in setting up shop, he said, although he declined to name any.

Simi Valley's other dealers of new books, Crown Books and A&S Bargain Books, offer selections limited to the overstock from retailers across the country, and patrons cannot place special orders.

``We don't compete head-to-head (with Borders),'' said Andy Weiss, head of San Diego-based A & S Booksellers, which operates 25 bargain bookstores in Southern California.

Weiss said he hasn't calculated what impact the new Borders would have on his own bookstores. Crown Books will likely be shuttered next year, he said.

In some ways Borders even competes with the Simi Valley Library, with 140,000 book titles. The average Borders store has about 200,000 titles, said Sue Zussman, marketing director for the store.

For the first few months, Borders will be testing out different types of community events such as in-store jazz, story times for children and author events, Zussman said.

``It will take some time to find out what kind of events are most popular,'' she said. ``It's not just a cup of coffee and a magazine.''

Rachel Uranga, [phone]

rachel.uranga(at)dailynews.com

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The new Borders at Tapo Canyon Road and Alamo Street in Simi Valley has been welcomed by local book lovers and city officials alike.

Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News