-- one the metro area's few independent stores that specializes in new books -- will close in March if owner Karin Anna can't find a buyer.

Anna broke the news to loyal customers and friends in an e-mail this week. By the next morning, more than 50 had replied that they were shocked and heartbroken.

"This makes me feel sorry that I didn't buy more books more often," one customer wrote.

Independent bookstores have been closing across the U.S. for years, done in first by chains such as Borders, then by Amazon and other online outlets, and now by electronic books and e-readers.

Looking Glass, though, has survived 38 years. For a time, it thrived in its space fronted by a red caboose at 7983 S.E. 13th Ave., in Portland's Sellwood neighborhood. The street -- also known as Antique Row -- gets plenty of foot traffic, and Looking Glass is next door to a popular

cafe.

And Anna was no romantic neophyte when she bought the business, then downtown, in 2001. During the 1980s, she was a book buyer for large stores and saw how the industry was changing.

"But I still believed in the independent bookstore," said Anna, 62. "I didn't anticipate all the technological changes."

She didn't worry when a

opened blocks from her downtown site, confident her store's loyal customer base would hold. She moved to Sellwood in 2007 because of a rent increase, impending city construction projects and the loss of lunch-hour foot traffic as nearby offices moved to the Pearl District.

Plus, she said, "Sellwood made sense." It's not far from Reed and Lewis & Clark colleges. "A lot of professors and students lived in the area. I looked at the neighborhood demographic studies and saw it was a well-educated neighborhood."

But after two good years, everything crashed in 2009. As the economy plummeted, so did sales. Customers became more price-conscious, and some moved to online sales and e-books.

"I call it a perfect storm," Anna said. "It breaks my heart."

In December, Anna said, a customer picked up a $40 book and used her cell phone to scan the bar code. She held up the phone for Anna to see: The same book was $16 cheaper online.

"She wanted to know if I could match it," Anna said. "I couldn't and wouldn't. It was an incredibly painful experience."

After the holidays, the numbers didn't lie. Anna began crafting her e-mail two weeks ago and sent it Monday.

To survive, independent bookstores must adapt, said Courtney Payne, a new-book sales representative who sits on the board of the

The group comprises owners and managers of independents in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

"The future of the bookstore is complicated," Payne said. "The electronic book is taking its toll, and some stores have closed. But I'm optimistic. Stores are rapidly changing to survive. Some allow a person to preview a book online at the store and then order it off the store's website."

Portland independents survive by plumbing a niche.

offers volume, multiple locations and a mix of new and used books.

downtown -- founded in 1938, making it the city's oldest independent bookstore -- sells only used books.

"And 40 percent of our sales come from used magazines," owner Jeff Frase said. "I'm hanging in. It's been a tough market for the new-book store. The big chains came in and undercut them, then the online sales and now electronic readers. Those are three big hits."

Julie Wallace, owner of

less than a mile northeast of Looking Glass, said the past few years have been "very difficult."

"I feel lucky," said Wallace, who has owned the store for 13 years. "I sell new and used books, which allows me to tap into different revenue streams. Some people want new books. But others say they will only buy used books."

Will Peters, manager of

in Multnomah Village, said the book business is evolving.

"We've been in business 30 years," he said. "I started out before we had computerized inventory. The hardest part is getting customers into a physical store. A store has to have a good assortment of books. It's a tough climate now, but we're holding our own."

Even the big boys aren't immune. That Borders that opened near Looking Glass' former location downtown closed at the end of December.

Anna said she offered events at Looking Glass, such as children's story times, to attract customers. "But people would leave without buying a book," she said.

On Tuesday, nearby resident Julie Young came by with her 5-year-old son, Max.

"I'm here to buy," Young said. "I could get it cheaper online, but I want to support the store. We've been coming here for years."

Anna waited by the cash register.

"There just weren't enough customers," she said.