Keeping a used bookstore open these days is getting harder than ever.

Broward has fewer than a half-dozen secondhand bookstores still in business and they face an uncertain future. Not only has the Internet stolen potential customers who can buy books at bargain prices online, but also the growing popularity of e-books and digital readers, such as Amazon's Kindle and Barnes & Noble's Nook, threatens to dramatically change the way people read.

Even though their shelves are lined with literary treasures and bargain reads, some used bookstore owners wonder if the day will come when most people will prefer to read a book on a small screen than to hold it in their hands.

The economic downturn has had a mixed impact on used bookstores, which offer a wide selection of gems, some much in demand and others long out of print.

Some stores are experiencing an upswing in business as readers seek out used bookstores to save money by trading books they've finished for fresh reading material.

Others say they are feeling the pinch of the dismal economy with sales down, and they can't afford to buy back books. Most paperbacks at used bookstores sell for half the cover price or less.

Here's a glimpse at Broward's used bookstores and what you'll find there:

• At Second Edition Book Shop in Davie, owner Andrea Hill said business is up 25 percent over last year as more people hunt for deals.

She thumbs through a card file with the names of 1,000 regular customers and the books they trade in paperback fiction. If a customer wants a book that's not in the store, she jots it down and lets them know when it comes in.

``We offer something unique and that's a small-town feel in here,'' said Hill, surveying the neat store, with 25,000 books and cozy chairs.

Regular customer Marissa Cohen, 31, loves striking up conversations with Hill about books. ``It's homey and it's fun in here,'' said Cohen, who traded some paperbacks she read for two Diana Gabaldon books in mint condition for her sister. ``We talk all the time in here about books we've read and books we should read.''

The store in the Lincoln Park Plaza near Dunkin' Donuts has the feel of a personal library. It lacks the musty smell, dust and boxes overflowing with dog-eared books that are typically associated with used bookstores. A cart with $1 books greets customers near the front door.

Customers can bring back four books and take one in trade -- for $1.

Parents often bring their kids in search of fun books to pass the summer and to find books on school required reading lists.

Sixteen-year-old Emma Geisler recently grabbed the two books she needs to read this summer for her Advanced Placement English class next year. The Hollywood Hills 11th-grader picked up The Awakening and The Crucible for $7.42.

``We could have easily spent $20 for these books at Barnes & Noble,'' said Emma's mother, Karen Geisler.

While Hill, who also sells books online, knows of five used bookstores in Broward that have closed since hers opened, she believes Second Edition will continue to thrive.

``My customers want to touch books in here and they want to smell books,'' she said. ``We're like family to each other and you can't replace that.''

Second Edition Book Shop, Lincoln Park Plaza, 6812 Stirling Rd., Davie; 954-961-5063; 11 a.m-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. Closed Sunday.