Heinlein Group: Great Indie Bookstores Going Away? ...no and NO!!!

2009-10-15

Great Indie Bookstores Going Away? ...no and NO!!!

All of these great independent bookstores are going bye-bye..., Free Audio Books
Oct 12, '09

Indeed, that competition from online retailers such as Amazon.com and big chains such as Barnes & Noble Inc. has continued to hit small retail booksellers hard. And the deep recession that began in December 2007 has added to the burden on independent stores.

Book publishers have reported slight gains in revenue this summer, but those numbers don’t tell the story of independent booksellers. Retail sales at bookstores nationwide were down 0.5% to $1.11 billion in July from nearly $1.12 billion a year earlier, according to preliminary figures released last month by the Census Bureau. LAT

painful...simply painful...say it isn't so! ...and, no, no, NO!!!

I agree and believe passionately, along with several others in a recent conversation on the topic, that the "Things that Make Indies Great 'Will Still Be There'." It is a part of our heritage - "worth fighting for"...
I spent a weekend in Martha's Vineyard awhile back...to "get away." And, while riding about the island on a bicycle and camping out, I stopped in at every little book shop and wonderful indie bookstore that I could find... the charm and character of the old indies are simply irresistible....
-grew up in the NW. Elliot Bay Books in Seattle and Powell's Books in Portland got me hooked...
I got started in the book industry as a "road rep" in the NE -and enjoyed the good fortune to actually "get paid to visit" many of the indies, Univ Bkstrs, dealers, distributors, etc in 8 states... good times and rich memories indeed!
-when I lived in Nashville, there was Davis-Kidd ...and, we have a terrific indie here in the Denver area - Tattered Cover.
-technology is wonderful and is connecting us in ways that past generations could never imagine...but, don't take my indie bookstore...