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BIG_BOXES_OR_NONE

                                                   February 14, 2010

   A thought I've had recently,
   probably an obvious thought,
   (not unusual for me):

   The independent bookstore has
   seen two waves of assault,
   one from the big chains, and
   then from the internet.


       Once upon a time, the big chains
       had relatively tiny outlets,
       specializing in "bestsellers":
       Waldenbooks, Daltons.

       The 80s saw the rapid rise of "big box"
       chains, Borders and their imitators,
       (Barnes and Nobles)... these were           Palo Alto once had
       essentially big coffee bars with            easily a half dozen
       magazine racks and a bunch of books on      independant bookstores.
       display.  These places try to give you      Most of these died
       the feeling that they carry everything,     after a Borders was
       but really there are many omissions.        allowed to open up
                                                   on Universtiy Avenue.
       These big boxes suddenly developed
       tremendous power in the publishing
       industry.  If Borders doesn't want
       to carry it, why bother publishing
       it?

       Then the second wave of assault kicked
       in, amazon.com and competitors
       (notably bn.com, the online form
       of Barnes and Nobles).

       These are evil in their own ways...           THE_LONE_TIT
       but at least they really *do*
       carry everything, or get pretty
       close to it.

       We no longer need to worry quite so
       much about the Borders of the world
       acting as a reality filter.


    A brief defense of the brick and
    mortar independent bookstore:

    To quote Paul Krugman, who offers
    a common take on these things:

    "Browsing in a physical bookstore is
    still the best way to find books you       [ref]
    weren't looking for. But if there's a
    specific book I want, I go online."

        This is time efficient, but
        the opportunities for serendipity
        are reduced...
                                                   KRUGMAN_FUNNIES
        Small bookstores are cool places
        to be in their own right, and one
        of the ways you find books you
        weren't looking for is to actually
        go there and look.

        Looking for a particular book you
        expect to find there is one good
        way to get that process
        started... even if you're telling         UNINTENDED
        yourself that the main reason
        you're doing it is as a duty to
        support the institution.


            Admittedly, I am "lucky
            enough" to be living in a         (What luck has to
            place that still has many         do with the fact
            independant bookstores.           that I'm living
                                              where I want to
                                              live escapes me...)


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