An outcry from readers throughout Nashville drove Karen Davis, and her business partner Thelma Kidd, to keep alive the bookstore they founded 30 years ago. The chain that bought the bookstore in 1997 declared bankruptcy in November and announced Davis-Kidd would close this month.

Karen Davis says she and Thelma Kidd discussed trying to save the store from closure, but decided there wasn’t enough time. They have, however, found a small way for it to live on.

“Really, it’s a way for people to express those kinds of concerns and feelings, I think – How can this die? How can Davis-Kidd Booksellers really end? So the fund was set up, and that’s a way to kind of perpetuate the spirit of Davis-Kidd Booksellers.”

Davis and Kidd made the first donation of $5,000 to establish the fund. Proceeds will target projects that instill a love of reading and books.