Sadly, a story ends at Edward McKay Used Books & Music in Raleigh

Edward McKay Used Books & Music, now closed on Capital Boulevard, was a fun visit, really for entire families. Browsing those thousands of used books could take hours, punctuated by the occasional raised eyebrow when a rare find was discovered.

For kids, raised on electronic devices and electronic books, the store was a history lesson: Yes, kids, these used to be the only kind of books there were. And it was a chance for some to clear out their libraries by selling their books — and then turning them into more books with store credit, of course.

No explanation was offered for the store closing, which will leave two spots, one in Winston-Salem and another in Greensboro, open. But such stores seem rare these days. This group grew out of a store started by an Army veteran who opened a store in Fayetteville in 1974.

What to do, to get that sensory whiff of old and well-read books? Well, there are libraries, and that’s good. And there’s the occasional sale to benefit local libraries or buy books for children. All, well, time passes. And pages turn.

This story was originally published April 24, 2017 at 7:54 PM with the headline "Sadly, a story ends at Edward McKay Used Books & Music in Raleigh."