When Back Pages Books first opened in 2005, owner Alex Green '04 said that the independent bookstore received an outpouring of support from the community, when no independent bookstore had existed in the town for many years. The store now faces financial difficulties after weathering numerous challenges, and Green is counting on support of customers to ensure its survival. Three weeks ago, Green said he sent out an appeal to the 800 addresses on his e-mail list, informing the public of his troubles for the first time. In an interview, he explained how, as a Classics major, he and his co-founder Ezra Sternstein '04 had no business training and started the Moody Street store undercapitalized. Green explained how this was an added risk factor to the usual difficulties a store encounters in its first year.

Within six months of opening the store, the More than Words bookstore opened two doors down from his shop, Green said.

More Than Words is a nonprofit bookstore that works with the Department of Social Services to offer job training to youths at risk. According to the More Than Words Web site, the store is able to cover about 50 percent of its operating budget, relying on donations and grants from public and private sources for the rest. More Than Words had more financial backing than Back Pages, which had none at that time, Green said.

"That was the hardest of any of these issues to deal with because the kids there are so great," Green said. "[Admiration] is an understatement for what they've done, but the decision by the directors of the program to open up two doors down really hurt."

As a result, "immediately I think we lost money, and that put a significant strain on my business relationship with [Sternstein]," Green said. A year after the venture began, "the partnership fell apart very quickly," he recalled. Not wanting to "scare" customers, Green said he carried on by himself without discussing the store's troubles publicly.

Because the store faced high rent at its old location near Lizzie's, he planned the store's move to a new space at 289 Moody St. last fall, "to a beautiful, integrated artist space." Green explained, adding that the new location also promised "better foot traffic." Bureaucratic difficulties involving an occupancy permit caused the store to remain closed for 40 days after the move in late September, instead of the expected week and a half.

"Forty days closed in any business is just terrible," he said. "If you add those three things up, it's truly a series of unfortunate events, not to make a terrible, terrible book pun."

The situation escalated to the point where the store now owes a large of sum of money to publishers, Green said. He added that he sees a necessity for better accounting because it is hard for him to devote time to it at the end of the day when he spends all business hours in the front of the store. These problems began to impact his ability to organize large-scale events and be as productive as he had been, he said. "If you're having trouble even pulling off a reading, . then you have to step forward and ask for help," he said.

After the difficulties with the move, business was down during the holiday season, but increased 50 percent the first quarter of the year compared to the year before. However, Green said, "We're just not doing better fast enough." If outside support could help sustain the store until September, when it carries a limited number of textbooks for Brandeis classes and students return to the area, "We would be a stable business that could be here for years and years to come," he said.

A sum of $50,000 is needed immediately in order to cover the debt owed publishers, a part-time accountant and an inventory system to track sales, he said.

"The idea of having . the funding up-front immediately to create a structure within which we can go forward into that season is that we can . have a way of managing those ups and downs in a better way with the increased business that we've seen already here," he said.

While the original difficulties had been outside the average customer's control, he said, in the current situation, "customers could really, really help." To that end, he has established a member rewards program modeled on that of another bookstore. At the entry level membership tier of $20, customers receive $10 gift card after purchases of $10 and invitations to members-only events. With higher membership tiers, beginning with $50, customers can receive discounts beginning at 15 percent off. The initial response, he said, was very positive, with about 20 percent of the initial goal met.

Green said he had set up an advisory reflecting the city's varied communities that includes an associate director of the Waltham library, a professor from the Boston University film school in the building, Boston area writers and a student organizer from Brandeis, Stephanie Sofer '09, to help chart the store's future and plan a fundraiser.

After hearing feedback from customers regarding their use of Amazon.com, he said he and his supporters were thinking of increasing its participation in Booksense.com, a Web site that allows customers to order books from independent booksellers.

"We would love Moody Street to continue to have two independent bookstores," Jodi Rosenbaum, director of More than Words, said. "We're really sorry to hear that he's struggling."

"Whenever we didn't have something, our youth always sent them to Back Pages. Alex is wonderful about supporting our youth . and sending customers up here," Rosenbaum added, noting that Green had attended their open-mic events.

"I still believe that Waltham, more than almost any other community I've ever seen or lived in, can support a small and very, very successful bookstore," Green said. In addition to coming to buy a book or join the rewards program, he strongly encouraged Brandeis students to sign up for his e-mail list. "I guarantee you that there is at least one author who comes through this store, while you're here during the school year, who you'd like to come down and see," he said.