Barnes & Noble closing Niskayuna store June 30

"The Niskayuna lease will expire at the end of July, and the store will be closing June 30," David Deason, vice president of development for the bookstore chain, said in the email.

Word the Mohawk Commons store might be in trouble spilled out in April when the property owner sought Planning Board approval to split the 24,000-square-foot Barnes & Noble space into three separate retail units.

The national chain has been struggling of late, with some analysts predicting it could follow the path of its competitor, Borders, into history.

[...] the American Booksellers Association, the independents' trade group, told The Associated Press last week that its membership had increased to 1,664, up more than 200 since 2009.

Janet Hutchison, owner of the Open Door Bookstore and Gift Gallery in Schenectady, said she hopes to see some increased sales from the closing of her corporate counterpart.

[...] in the age of Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Borders struggled while the independents have built a niche.