Indie resurgence stories seem to be a media trend recently. In a piece headlined "U.S. neighborhood bookstores thrive in digital age," Reuters noted that indies "are discovering how to flourish despite the growth of electronic books with some even looking to form an alliance with a formidable competitor--Google."
"We often say we're like Mark Twain: that the rumors of our death have been greatly exaggerated," said Oren Teicher, CEO of the American Booksellers Association, which has reached a deal with Google Editions that will allow members to sell Google's e-books through their websites. "Getting into the business of being able to provide digital content to consumers is one way in which to evolve," Teicher added.
"We anticipate Google Editions will be a popular channel for independent bookstores with a web presence," said Jeannie Hornung, spokeswoman for Google Books and News.
Rachel Meier, general manager at the Booksmith, San Francisco, Calif., agreed: "What we hear from our customers is a great deal of enthusiasm for price bundling, so you can read the physical book at home when you're in bed at night and when you're on the subway you can read the same book on your e-reader."
Reuters also noted independent bookstores' role in the increasingly popular "buy local" movement.
"People are rediscovering the value of an independent store that's connected to their neighborhood and understands them and their tastes," said Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, co-owner of Greenlight Bookstore, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Eileen Dengler, executive director of the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association, observed that indie bookstores "are still promoting the story, and whether you want to read it on paper or on your iPad, we still want to be able to sell that story to consumers. Everyone wants to do it. It's how they're going to do it."
Shelf Awareness, 8/18/10
Comments
Mechelle Fogelsong said on Friday, August 27, 2010:
I'd love for there to be a way to track independent bookstores' online sales of used books--in particular, certain out-of-print titles. (I'm not aware of such a tracking mechanism. Let me know if there is one.) There are some books that have been out of print, that might be selling like hotcakes as used books through independent bookstores with an online presence. If publishers could track which out-of-print books are being sold, maybe publishing houses would be willing to give them another go 'round.
This year I bought several books like that for my kids. I knew they were out-of-print, but I wanted each of my children to have a copy for themselves. So I bought one copy per kid.