Former Billings resident Robert Struckman, writing in the Missoula Independent for Writers on the Range (but apparently not available on the web) has mixed feelings about Starbucks' "assault on Montana." He also ventures into other aspects of chain ownership: "Some corporate chains can bring a net gain to a community. You can crucify me for saying so, but Barnes & Noble Booksellers was a tremendous addition to Billings. The city had no large bookstores. It probably increased by a factor of 10 the number of titles on sale there."

There's truth, of course, that Billings had no large independent bookstores. What bothers me about Barnes & Noble is that now I suspect Billings never will.