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After nine years of serving the College Park area, Vertigo Books will be closing its doors in about two and a half weeks or as soon as the remaining books are sold.

"This is a very sad time," said Camy Clough, a Hyattsville resident who visits the store every two to three weeks. "I am an avid reader and I enjoy and trust their selection."

The store is closing for a variety of reasons, including a lack of steady business.

"We're not making any money," co-owner Bridget Warren said.

Beginning Friday, everything in the store is 20 percent off, and the store is no longer accepting checks or offering returns or exchanges.

In honor of its last days, Vertigo Books is holding a party at 5 p.m. on Saturday. Anyone who has shopped, read or worked at Vertigo Books is welcome to join in the potluck by bringing a dish or something to drink.

Last October, Vertigo Books posted a message on their Web site that warned customers that the store had been hit hard by the economy and was in jeopardy of closing and asked customers to vote with their dollars.

"Things really got worse last September, we had a good November and we had the best December ever," said co-owner Todd Stewart.

After the New Year, business began to plummet again. Stewart attributed the loss of sales to the economy and book discounters, superstores and internet sites like Amazon.com who did not invest any of their profits into the community.

Warren said of every $10 a customer spent at the store, $4.50 remained in the community as opposed to their competitors.

Kim Robinson, a Hyattsville resident, visits the store on a weekly basis and usually purchases three to seven books a week. He said he supports small businesses, like Vertigo Books, and it helps that the owner is "charming and pays personal attention to the customers."

"There are a lot of books that are off-beat," Robinson said. "And, of course, a lot of books are marked down and that is helpful."

Warren said the space will be filled by The University Shop, a sorority and fraternity gifts, boutiques and clothing shop but calls to the shopping center property owner were not returned by press time.

"They have just been good neighbors to the College Park community," Clough said. "[Vertigo Books] is going to leave a hole that won't be filled."

Berwyn Heights native Denise Jameson, who is the manager of neighboring business Starbucks, said she had been visiting Vertigo Books for the past 17 years and saw the decline in the customer base.

"Recently [Vertigo Books] just hasn't attracted a crowd," Jameson said. "The whole area has changed a lot. It's all about the kids and the neighborhoods don't get as involved now."