The owner of one of Saskatoon's last second-hand bookstores has found a creative way to make sure her store survives.

Westgate Books owner Ann Dutnall is donating her entire collection, thousands of books, to an employee.

"I'm going to go to school in the fall, and try something different," Dutnall said. "I really want to save the book store for Saskatoon. It was so close to being closed right up, because this mall is closing."

Westgate has an eviction notice from its landlords, effective at the end of June.

The owners of the Cumberland Square strip mall plan on tearing down many of the buildings this summer.

With a move on the horizon, and a willingness to return to school, Dutnall has decided to donate her entire collection to her head book seller.

She said giving the books directly to him will give him the boost he needs to re-locate.

"Can you imagine Saskatoon with no (used) bookstore?" she asked. "Customers were just begging me to find a way to keep it open, and it was really important to do that."

The book industry has seen some difficult times in the last few years, with many of the city's remaining stores closing down.

Still, Dutnall said she believes books will always hold an important place in readers' hearts.

"I really think the return to books has already started," she said. "People like to hold a book in their hand."

Westgate will be relocating to the Louis the 8th strip mall, several blocks down 8th Street from its current location.