If there is a silver lining to Bookland of Maine's declaring bankruptcy last May, it's that more than half its stores were purchased by people who worked there. Employees came up with winning bids for five out of nine stores; four stores closed in March 2000, prior to the bankruptcy filing. According to Bookland general manager Stuart Gerson, who bought the downtown Portland store with Chris Bowe, formerly of Bookland, "The most wonderful thing is every single bookstore was sold to Bookland employees. That's pretty cool."

Although the final details of the bankruptcy are being worked out, so far only two stores—in Kittery, Maine, and Portsmouth, N.H..,—have been liquidated, and the Portland International Jetport location was sold to an airport vendor, Paradies Shops Inc. The fate of the Dover, N.H., store is still unresolved, although Bookland would like to continue to operate it under the Stroudwater Books name, which it used for its New Hampshire locations.

In September 2000, former Bookland operations manager Jonathan Platt and his wife, Carrie Platt, made the first two purchases—the Mill Creek store in South Portland and the Saco store, which they renamed Nonesuch Books & Cards.

Because of the bankruptcy, both stores had eroding stock problems, which the Platts have since remedied. "We worked very hard to get the stock back up to snuff. And I felt good about where we ended up in the season," said Jonathon Platt of the stores' first Christmas. He's also quick to credit sales to "the wonderful business that Bookland built. It's been a household name in this area for 25 years."

The Platts made physical changes to both spaces, too. In fact, they moved the Saco store to a smaller location in the same mall six weeks after they bought it. The children's sections of both stores have also been renovated. In Saco, the Platts expanded the children's area by 30%; at Mill Creek, an educational toy section is being added.

But of all the changes that they made, Jonathan Platt regards their hands-on approach to running the stores as the biggest distinction. "The difference between running two stores and 13," said Platt, "is to be able to focus more closely on what is selling on a daily basis, to react to customer preference. The difficulty with a regional chain is it's tough to be nimble."

Like the Platts, the first thing that Bowe and Gerson did after they bought the downtown Portland Bookland in late November was to rename it Longfellow Books. "We always try to tie what we're doing to the Longfellow name," said Bowe, who is determined to reclaim the Cambridge, Mass., poet for his state. "He was born here in Portland. As we create our identity, we want to unveil Longfellow as a living person."

So far customers have been pleased with Bowe and Gerson's efforts with the store. "Every day," said Bowe, "a customer asks us, 'How are you doing? We want you to make it.' They're coming in with lists they printed from Amazon, and we order them. Or, in some cases, we have the books on the shelf."

To thank customers for their loyalty, Longfellow has worked hard at improving customer service. "We're often getting our special orders in two days," said Bowe, "and we're a lot quicker to react to what customers are looking for." As an example, he cites the store's work with a local art school to improve the art and photography section. "We talk to them and ask what we should have, and they're constantly e-mailing us."

At All's Well in Wells, Maine, which Linda Ireland purchased in December, customers are also relieved to have the store stay in business. "I've had people send me boxes of chocolate and thank-you notes," said Ireland. "They were really grateful."

Although it's too soon to have instituted many changes besides the name, Ireland would like to bring in more book-related and writing-oriented sidelines. She still plans to keep the product mix heavily weighted toward books; books currently make up 65% of the stock. Her two most popular sections are regional interest, since so many customers aren't originally from Maine, and staff picks. "A lot of people in the community have come to rely on the recommends section," said Ireland.

The last Bookland to sell was the Brunswick store. The winning bid of $670,000, which includes the use of the Bookland name, was put together by Terri Caouette, manager; Tina Baldwin, assistant manager; Mary Swan, cafe owner; and Reuben Lopez, Caouette's brother. For Baldwin, who has been with Bookland for the past 12 years, keeping the name was important. "Reputation," she answers when asked why. "When you've had a store that's been around for 26 years, you have a solid reputation." By tweaking the name to Brunswick Bookland, she's also hoping to make it easier for summer customers, who know the Bookland name.

"Our initial goal," said Baldwin, "is to get the store back up to the level it once was. We really want to be the community store that we've always been." For the most part, she and her partners plan few changes. Brunswick Bookland will continue to have a used book department, a cafe, a large magazine selection and an audio rental library. "In communities like this," added Baldwin, "the big goal is always to get customers the book. We're looking into delivering to shut-ins."

Meeting community needs is what Bookland of Maine has tried to do since it opened its first store in 1973. Now it's up to its employees to carry on that tradition in Saco, Wells, Portland and Brunswick, Maine.