(upbeat music) (wind chime ringing) - I'm Jeannie Hunt.

My bookstore is called Jeannie's Used Books.

I have been in this location for 22 years.

I have approximately 275,000 books in here.

People come in and say I've got more books than the library.

And I have sorted them into about 160 different categories.

I have no database, except in my head.

Most of this is all non-fiction.

Back here, this is all cookbooks, crafting section, computer books, science, how-to, anthropology, archeology.

Just a little bit of everything.

I'm gonna miss this place.

I'm sorry I have to go.

In April of this year, I got a letter from my new landlords, new owners that they wanted me to leave.

Leaving this place is gonna be hard.

The packing starts tomorrow, and I have volunteers coming in.

Right here.

Perfect size.

- I got some more.

- Okay, you need any help?

Got those?

I'll get another load.

Thank you thank you.

- You're welcome.

- But it's gonna be a lot of work.

A lot of work to move this many books.

(gentle music) - So I was running some errands today and someone told me to come into the bookstore and Jeannie just told me today is her last day.

It's, yeah, it's kind of hitting me.

She's a fixture in the neighborhood.

- It's big day.

It's moving day today.

I got so many people coming in offering to help me pack because I got a lot of books in here.

A lot.

Grab the magic marker there.

(upbeat music) Whatever is right here, make sure it gets on the box.

(upbeat music) - Well I love Jeannie.

I've been shopping here for my fix for years.

- And the great thing about a big bookstore like Jeannie's is she always has something for everyone because you'll find stuff here that you didn't even know you wanted.

- My daughter, youngest daughter, who likes to read books, said that this place reminded her of the wand shop in the "Harry Potter" series.

So that compelled me to come and start reading books and meet Jeannie and see what it's all about.

- Brick and mortar bookstores like this, they're very rare to find these days with like the age of the internet, Amazon taking off, contributing to those locations, it feels like being part of something bigger than all of us.

- Bye guys, thank you.

It looks really small, doesn't it?

- It does.

- It hurts my heart.

It does.

Very sad.

It is.

It's like my life has gone down the drain.

It gets very emotional when you've been someplace for so long and you're told to leave.

But you know what?

I was so inspired by the entire community coming together because nobody wants to see me close, so I'm not gonna close.

I'm gonna continue on.

(bright music) - A change in location.

A local bookstore owner was forced to leave her storefront and find a new one because the owner decided to remodel.

- [Reporter] Jeannie says she was forced to move out of her business because Landlord Klein Realty decided to remodel the strip mall on High Street in Portsmouth.

But Bob Barnett, who owns Coastal Virginia Management, offered one of his properties for the bookstore.

- [Bob] I came and looked, immediately fell in love with everything.

(bright music) - I have a lot of my customers are spreading the word for me, and a lot of my customers are just as excited as I am.

But it's only been the past week that I've started to get excited, now that it's finally coming down to the wire.

(upbeat music) This is all the deviled eggs you brought, huh?

- I helped move the entire romance section.

Maybe five, 6,000.

- Well, over the five days, probably boxed a thousand or more.

- Oh my gosh, I forgot the sauerkraut.

(gentle music) - When I knew I had to move, everybody kept asking me, am I gonna go to another city?

And I told everybody no.

I wanted to stay here in Portsmouth because Portsmouth has kept me open.

That's what stands out most in my mind is the generosity of the people.

(customers chattering) With Amazon and Nooks and Kindles, I see paper fading away.

I don't think there's gonna be very many bookstores left.

Everybody was pissed that I got kicked out of High Street, but in hindsight, it's the best thing that's ever happened to me.

The best part of this new location is being so close to the school and having all the children come in and seeing the candy machine and finding their new favorite book.

My hope for the future for Jeannie's Used Books is that it continues to thrive and customers continue to come in and people continue to read paper.

(upbeat music)