Killing Indie Bookstores (and Local Economies)
Decatur Metro | March 22, 2009In complement to the previous post, this morning’s NY Times used the closing of a Chappaqua, NY bookstore to examine what’s putting indie bookstores out of business.
And while I don’t think the article’s conclusions would be considered earth-shattering (surprise! It’s Amazon and big-boxes!), I thought this quote resonated…
There’s so much noise in American life that we tend to hear only the loudest: Obama-mania! A.I.G. Mania! March Madness!
Way down on the decibel scale is a buy-local movement struggling to be heard. On the Internet, in small business groups, even from groups focused on local bookstores (www.indiebound.org) its message is that if people want local stores, a downtown that’s vital, they should shop there, even if they can get the Tylenol cheaper at Target and the John Grisham book cheaper at Amazon.
Nothing is forever, certainly not an independent bookstore. A lot of things killed our bookstore, including the terrible economy and the incessant information overload that makes reading a book like a quaint rite from the past. But if we lost it out of indifference, or to save a buck or two on Amazon, we lost a lot more than we saved.
Buy local.
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SHOP LOCAL! Keep your money in our community.
What if the publishing industry fails to adapt and the digital revolution keeps on keepin’ on? Most people will read books on a Kindle or some such device and there will be no need for bookstores just as there is slowly becoming no need for record music stores.
The Kindle or other book readers don’t do the publishers any harm (assuming they can avoid rampant piracy), as these devices will still require content, which is what the publishers provide. What it can possibly hurt are the “brick and mortar” bookstores Honestly, considering the cost, I fail to see the appeal of those things, though.
Eagle Eye book store at the corner of Clairmont and North Decatur Road is an excellent indie-bookstore. Have a look for yourself. I’m a very satisfied customer there in all book categories.
I second Eagle Eye. I have had the best luck there. Everyone is very nice and helpful. They have new and used books with a huge selection of used. Plus I find it well organized.
Technologies are changing. Our habits for reading, shopping and just about everything else are changing. That said, I think Wordsmith’s underscores the need to really think hard and deep about where we buy. It’s a reflection of how we live and our deeper values. I am not anti-Walmart, and big box stores do employ our neighbors and are vital for our economy. As a society, I think we need to balance our need to save money or try a new technology, with the need to support our community. Sometimes we will choose Amazon or a big box store. Sometimes we will go to the farmer’s market or a local boutique. Every purchase we make reflects who we are.
As for books becoming obsolete (and I was just debating this with a librarian, who sees the eventual end of the road for her job), it is important to develop new technologies and keep people reading in whatever form. However, (sigh!) I can’t imagine curling up with a good Kindle at night!
There will always be a need for bookstores and record stores for those of us who are left unfulfilled by the digital revolution.
Do you really think “those of us” will be enough to support the existence of bookstores and record stores? Apple is the number one music retailer in the country and will only continue to gain market share for the foreseeable future. The baby boomers are slowly exiting the music buying period of their lives, the gen-x’ers are tilting away from store-bought purchases, and the younger generations are fast becoming online only consumers of music. A study I read said that half of all teens didn’t buy a single CD last year.
I know the original post was about bookstores, but I think in order to see into the future of the book industry and bookstores it helps to look at what’s happened to the music industry.
I think it’s very possible for electronic book readers to not only harm publishers but actually kill them off. If a writer can deliver his book directly to a human reader who owns an electronic reader, then why does a publisher need to exist? Yes, an author will still need certain things done to assist him in production and release of a book, but those roles can be much smaller and performed by people who specialize in those areas of work.
Author’s can already deliver content digitally, the Kindle is just another way to read it. Publishers will exist post-Kindle, or similar ereaders, for the same reasons they exist today.