There was a time, some 30-odd years ago, when tourists would travel to Sidney to explore the eclectic little bookshops that they’d heard about in the scenic seaside town.
According to Al Smith, the executive director of the Saanich Peninsula Chamber of Commerce, ‘Book Town’ became a kind of phenomenon for the municipality and turned Sidney into an international destination for book lovers.
Much of that was due to Clive and Christine Tanner.
They moved to the community in 1982 and owned and operated a half-dozen bookstores there over the ensuing 40-year period and became the driving force in creating the Book Town reputation. Inspired by their visits to visiting Hay-on-Wye in Wales — home to several bookstores and a popular literary festival – they were inspired and determined to make Sidney a bookstore hub.
They opened their first shop, Beacon Books, in 1993 and specialized in rare and first-edition volumes. More stores followed, including Christine’s Paperback Writer store. The building reputation led to the opening of more bookstores, not affiliated with the Tanners, and the Book Town concept was established.
“Book Town was successful and grew to a dozen stores by about 2005 for four main reasons, said Cliff McNeil-Smith, the current mayor of Sidney and the owner of Tanner’s Books.
“To begin with, the downtown business district was excellent for local entrepreneurs (and) the local/regional customer demographic was excellent for new and secondhand/antiquarian books. (As well) Sidney is in a transportation hub (BC Ferries, Victoria International Airport, and marinas) with significant tourism. (Finally), Clive Tanner was a champion that attracted new bookstore owners to Sidney.”
In fact, McNeil-Smith said that he returned to Sidney from Calgary because of a line that he read on the Sidney Book Town website.
It read, “Call Clive Tanner if you want to join Sidney Book Town.” The Tanners sold their self-named store to McNeil-Smith in 2001 and he still owns it today.
Sadly, Clive Tanner passed away in September 2022 at the age of 90, By then, several of the bookstores in Sidney had already closed and, in early 2024, Christine Tanner closed Beacon Books after selling her collection of more than 10,000 books as well as the shop’s shelving, chairs and antique fixtures to a company based in Creston, B.C.
The reasons for the closure of so many of Sidney’s bookstores are a matter of conjecture.
Some maintain that it was the advent of the Internet and the online availability of rare books. Others say that large retail bookstores created a level of competition that smaller specialty shops had trouble overcoming.
“A lot of bookstores have pivoted to where they offer all kinds of merchandise that have little to do with books,” said William Matthews, the owner of Sidney’s last remaining specialty bookstore, The Haunted Bookshop. He explained that stores like his, which refrain from selling everything from mugs to calendars to fuzzy blankets and instead concentrate on actual books (what a concept, right?) can find themselves at a disadvantage.
“The thing is that the cheap books have become very cheap, particularly in the used book market,” said Alex Matthews, William’s daughter and partner in the store. “We have books that were selling in 1960 for $3 and today we can get, maybe $6 for that book. And at the same time, the expensive, rare books have become very expensive.
“It’s not a great business model,” she continued with a smile. “I’ve been around bookstores like this all my life and I was always told that whatever you do (in life) don’t open a bookstore. I can’t help it, though. I love books.”
Whatever the reasons, the fact remains that, with the recent closure of Galleon Books, only two Book Town locations remain in operation – Tanner’s Books and The Haunted Bookshop.
“The many little (book) shops added to the already vibrant culture in our community,” said McNeil-Smith. “And the feedback I receive is that both locals and returning visitors miss the stores that have closed.”
This might be a good time to recall something that Walt Disney once observed. He said, “There is more treasure in books than in all the pirates' loot on Treasure Island.”
And while the bookstores in Sidney have largely disappeared, the legacy of those treasures still endures.
