Nearly 200 Waldenbooks stores in 44 states could close in January, including the one in the Platte River Mall of North Platte, as the parent company Borders attempts to “right-size” operations, company officials announced Thursday.

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Waldenbooks stores are located in shopping malls across the country. Besides North Platte, Walden's stores in Kearney’s Hilltop Mall, Grand Island’s Conestoga Mall and a Borders Express store in Omaha’s Oak View Mall are on the list of probable closings.

The plan will leave about 130 Waldenbooks stores in operation nationwide. The list of stores to-be-closed is not final.

The store closings in January will mean the loss of nearly 1,500 jobs, the majority of which are part-time. Employees have been informed and displaced employees will receive severance, the company said.

The closings will make the “specialty retail segment” of the Borders company “emerge with a smaller, more profitable mall chain in fiscal 2010,” the company said.

"We believe there remains an opportunity to profitably operate a much smaller Waldenbooks segment that complements our core Borders superstore business and continues to serve readers in their communities,” said Borders Group Chief Executive Officer Ron Marshall.

The company's seasonal mall kiosks will continue, including the Day by Day Calendar Co. outlet that operates during the winter at the Platte River Mall. As long as the bookstores remain open, all gift cards will be honored there, and all gift cards will continue to be honored at any Borders or Waldenbooks location, or online at Borders.com.