The end of an era: after 35 years in business in New York City, the nation's oldest gay and lesbian bookshop closes its doors for good. (Gay-Owned Business).

The telephone has been ringing off the hook on Christopher Street at New York City's Oscar Wilde Bookshop ever since its owner announced in early January that the 35-year-old store would be closing its doors. "It's nice to hear from people who loved the store," says manager Kim Brinster. "But I wonder where these people were when we needed their business."

Brinster's question has resonated with independent booksellers since the advent of Internet powerhouses such as Amazon.com and the expansion of chain stores such as Barnes & Noble into the gay and lesbian market. Nearly half of all independent gay and lesbian bookstores have closed in the past five years, says Deacon Maccubbin, owner of the Lambda Rising chain, headquartered in Washington, D.C. In smaller cities, where the gay bookstore often doubles as a community center, the loss is about more than selling books.

"There was a time when the gay bookstore was where you went for information and a sense of community," says Random House singular title manager Jim Vivyan. "Today, gay materials are more available, and gay books can be bought via your laptop. The need for the independent store is diminished."

Oscar Wilde owner Larry Lingle knows that firsthand. When Lingle, who also owns Houston's 29-year-old Lobo Bookshop & Cafe, bought Oscar Wilde in 1996, the shop was in disrepair and about to be shut down. Despite improvements including a rare books section, Lingle says the store has never turned a profit. December sales were down 20% from the previous year's dreary post--September 11 Christmas.

"I've lost a quarter-million dollars in six years," Lingle says. "When the landlord wanted a new five-year lease, that was the last straw."

Maccubbin, who reports that his stores are thriving, says he tried to help Lingle's New York store stay afloat. "But Larry is tired," Maccubbin says. "He's been doing this a long time, he's lost a lot of money, and he just wants to walk away." At press time, Oscar Wilde was scheduled to close in late January.

The death of indie gay bookshops, says Brinster, will be felt all over gay publishing. "Without the support of independents, the smaller presses may disappear completely," she says. "And if the Barnes & Nobles of the world are in power, we'll lose our backlist, our mid-list, everything except books by the top names in publishing--which means less work for new writers."

Lingle is less concerned. "I'm not all that sympathetic to [gay writers], because they rarely supported us," he says. "Authors mostly stopped by to complain that we didn't stock their books or that they weren't displayed properly."

Author Felice Picano is less gloomy about the demise of the gay indie bookshop. "Readers will find our books elsewhere," he says. "And in those places where the gay bookshop fulfilled other functions, they'll continue to thrive."

But not in Greenwich Village. Lingle plans to ship the Oscar Wilde stock to his Houston store rather than hold a going-out-of-business sale. "I won't give the vultures the pleasure of picking our bones," he says. "Meanwhile, Kim is looking up Christopher Street for a white knight to come save the store. I don't think it's going to happen."

Pela is the author of Filthy: The Weird World of John Waters.