GOING AWAY–A customer browses the bargain books at Borders in Thousand Oaks. The store will close shortly after the holiday shopping season. WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers Conejo Valley residents looking to buy their next good read will have to go elsewhere come Jan. 31 of next year, when Borders’ lease in Thousand Oaks expires.

Locals are hoping a new bookstore will take its place in the community, although with the advent of e-book shopping and the demise of brick-and-mortar stores, the prospects aren’t likely.

Borders had tried to renegotiate the lease on its store at 125 W. Thousand Oaks Blvd., but reportedly wasn’t able to commit to a five-year term.

“We were in the process of negotiating a lease extension when we learned the property had been leased to Ventura County. We have enjoyed serving the residents of Thousand Oaks and are saddened to close the store,” the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based company said in a statement.

The county showed interested in the 40,000-square-foot building and signed a 15-year lease to use it as a new home for its West County health clinics.

“It’s going to cut costs for the county,” said Larry Janss, the building’s owner. “All the services are here already, and this will allow them to consolidate under one roof.”

Newbury Park resident Fiona Hayes does her school book shopping at Borders and is concerned that she’ll have to drive farther to buy books in the future.

“This is the only bookstore close,” Hayes said. “What am I going to do when I need books for school?”

Shelly Lines of Camarillo would rather see the bookstore stay and have the health facilities occupy one of the city’s empty commercial buildings.

“They could put the clinic anywhere. . . .” Lines said. “There’s so much office space out there for a clinic.”

“There are so many empty buildings, why doesn’t the county use one of those,” Hayes said.

Janss said the building is too large for Borders, whose average store is 25,000 square feet.

“Borders has been behind the curve for a while with the digital age,” Janss said. “A lot more people are getting their books online.

“I’m sad to have them go,” he said. “I would have loved to have Borders stick around, but the world changed underneath them.”

The new clinic will combine the county’s mental health and healthcare facilities along with space for the state assistance program Women, Infants and Children.

Linda Parks, Ventura County 2nd District supervisor, said residents would like to keep Borders but that the situation calls for a change.

“We all want to keep Borders, but the building they are in is too big,” Parks said. “This saves on cost because (the county won’t be) paying rent on two buildings. Our healthcare agency has been very successful, and it’s an amazingly good system.”

Newbury Park resident Diane Bock is in favor of the clinic’s move into Borders but would still like to see a bookstore somewhere.

“I think it’s fine to have a health clinic here, but I’m curious to see if they open another Borders at this end of town,” Bock said.

According to an About.com retail report, the U.S. bookstore closings so far in 2010 have included 200 Waldenbooks (Borders), 50 B. Dalton (Barnes & Nobles) and six Borders stores.

The Borders operating loss in the first quarter this year was $33.5 million compared to $29.1 million in the same period a year ago.