When the state of Oregon issued its shutdown orders in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Scott Givens was forced to make some very difficult decisions very quickly.
Givens owns Browsers Bookstore, which has locations in both Albany and Corvallis, and he has longtime employees at both stores.
âIn March, when everything shut down, I laid everyone off. I had to. It was terrible, one of the worst days of my life,â Givens said.
Nearly a year later, the situation has slowly improved. Givens has been able to bring employees back to work and his staffing levels are nearly back at their pre-pandemic levels. The entire experience, as painful as it has been, has shown the deep bond between local bookstores and their communities and created some new opportunities.