Do bookstores have a future?
- From: J Flenner <varney@[redacted]>
- Subject: Do bookstores have a future?
- Date: Thu, 25 May 2006 09:39:46 EDT
[]
http://villagevoice.com/books/0621,collins,73282,10.html
May 22nd, 2006 | Village Voice | Literary Supplement
Chain Reaction
Do bookstores have a future?
by Paul Collins
Earlier this month the legendary Cody's Books in Berkeley announced that
it was closing its doors for good. It's a grim if unsurprising
development. The last decade has not been kind to the traditional corner
bookshop. Battered by online discounts and chain superstores, the
American Booksellers Association has crumbled from 5,200 bookstores in
1991 to 1,702 stores in 2005. So if you were to seek a summary of their
dilemma, this one might sound apt: "The old-fashioned bookstore was a
charming place, but charm alone will not solve the problem of modern
book distribution. . . . Hard though it may be to face the fact, the
bookstore of today cannot primarily be a place for those who revere
books as things-in-themselves."
An editorial about the opening of another Borders superstore crammed
with lattes and Sudoku instead of Foucault and Zola? No. Try a Carnegie
Corporation report . . . from 1930.
(snip)
.
.
.