I don't know quite what the official position is, but from what I'm seeing online from friends who work there, it seems that Borders Australia is approaching the end of its journey into administration. Unfortunately, the last stop is not looking good. The official media release talks of the need for an urgent sale, the timeframe mentioned is only one month. Beyond that looms nothing but liquidation.

I worked at Borders for five years and enjoyed most of my time there. I worked with great people and spent many hours surrounded by some of the best and most fascinating books I'll ever see. To say I put tens of thousands of hours into the business is not an exaggeration, not all of them paid, both at the Bondi store where I started in Sydney, and later in the Perth store on the west coast.

Personally, I'm sad to hear of the demise of Borders in Australia for many reasons, the most prominent being because of the people who work there, who, I'm sure, could do without the turmoil that they're being served up right now. Of course, on another level, I'm also saddened by what's coming because I was a customer, and having such a big bookshop to get lost in will be sorely missed.

The book trade will live on, so will bookshops, though they may become much fewer and far between.

Borders Australia, if no white knight arrives in the next 30 days, know that you'll be missed.