Less than a month after Toronto’s Glad Day Bookshop issued a public plea for donations to keep the store afloat, another Toronto indie, described by the Guardian in 2005 as “Canada’s best independent bookstore,” is struggling to survive. On Friday, the locks were changed at This Ain’t the Rosedale Library and a bailiff’s notice was posted on the door stating that owner Charlie Huisken has until Thursday to pay $40,000 plus costs owed to the building’s landlord.

An article in The Globe and Mail suggests that the iconic Kensington Market bookstore is a victim of competition from Amazon:

Mr. Huisken could not be reached for comment. But other bookshop owners said the traditional way of doing business that has served the independents well for decades is under siege right across Canada. They said the independents are struggling to compete against online bookseller Amazon.com, which sells at deep discounts that the small stores cannot afford to match and which recently got the nod from Ottawa to operate its own distribution warehouse in Canada.

Meanwhile, the Toronto Star indicates that a number of people in the city’s literary community have voiced support for the bookstore, including author Julie Wilson, who said that she “would chain herself to the door” to prevent the store from closing.

In 2008, Huisken moved the store from its original Church Street location to its current location on Nassau Street in Kensington Market, because the rent in the latter spot was more affordable. The store was the focus of a tribute at Harbourfront last year, where it was celebrated for its longevity and its ability to persevere in the current bookselling market.