I think most of those small town stores would have been happy to order you whatever (of course only if they could find it in a catalog). That's still less convenient than internet shopping though.
I had a similar experience living in a non-anglophone country ordering english books. Whenever I heard "we can order it" I stopped listening. It always arrived in more than a month, cost tons, got stuck in customs, and wasn't in the catalog anyway.
That can depend on how religious the owner/runner of the bookshop is and if your own relgious views matter. Science verses Relgion. One Reglion is the locale area, your own is another etc etc
