Lee Campbell, owner of the Paperback Palace in Vienna, gives a tour of her store which will be closing Feb. 28. Used books will be 50 percent off and all books that are not sold will be donated to local organizations. (Photo by Candice Black)

VIENNA — When her bookstore closes at the end of the month, owner Lee Campbell hopes to find a home for each book.

After 17 years of business, the Paperback Palace in Vienna will close its doors Feb. 28.

Campbell hopes to sell as much of her inventory as possible with a 50 percent off sale but plans on donating most of the books to local organizations.

“We’ve just tried to find a good spot, a good home. My background is in library science and I like the idea of getting them to some place that really wants them. I want my customers to get them first and then somebody else that needs them. We will try to donate everything we can,” Campbell said.

Some of the books will go to the public library, Wyngate Senior Center, churches and the groups that stock the little libraries around town.

The Paperback Palace on 28th Street in Vienna will be closing its doors Feb. 28. All used books will be on sale for 50 percent off. (Photo by Candice Black)

“It’s nice to be able to take the books that are sitting here (that) people can’t get access to because they’re not coming out and send them to some places,” Campbell said.

Customers also helped with donations. Campbell said some of the people who weren’t able to come in to shop during the pandemic donated their trade-in credit.

“They were really generous with their trade-in. They handed over $1,000 to the teachers, educators or the library. We’ve donated a lot of books because of them,” she said.

When the pandemic hit in 2020, Campbell said several of her regular customers weren’t able to come in as often because they are seniors and more at-risk for the virus, which led to financial issues and her decision to close the store.

Before the virus was an issue, Campbell had hoped to bring her focus back to the store after she had spent time taking care of family members.

A wide variety of books can be found at the Paperback Palace in Vienna before its doors close permanently Feb. 28. Lee Campbell, owner, pictured, shows a customer around the store. (Photo by Candice Black)

“I had been planning to transition and come back and really focus on the store and almost immediately, we (got) hit with COVID. I had all of these kinds of plans,” she said.

Once the store closes, Campbell hopes to use her library and education background to do similar work in the field and she wants to get into genealogy work.

Several of her customers were dedicated to the store since day one and Campbell said she will miss the their interaction the most.

“That’s really going to be the hard part. That was one of the hard parts in the beginning to make the decision,” she said.

Through Feb. 28, the Paperback Palace at 515 28th Street in Vienna will be open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from noon-4 p.m. It will also be open on Feb. 28 from noon-4 p.m. All used books are 50 percent off and people can shop online at pbkpalace.com.

More information can be found on the Paperback Palace Facebook page or by calling 304-295-7600.

Candice Black can be reached at cblack@newsandsentinel.com.