From: T Scott Plutchak <[log in to unmask]> Date: Wed, 8 Jan 2014 00:04:16 +0000 Certainly an intriguing notion, although the underlying premise is a bit faulty. As this recent article in the Washington Post (http://t.co/PVKmXRDTjy) makes clear, it is simply not true that "In 2013, we continued to watch independent bookstores (as well as large corporate bookstores) slip away from our communities." The corporate bookstores continue to be in trouble, but the indies, after the winnowing that occurred in the mid-2000s as some indies couldnąt regroup fast enough, are experiencing growth both in numbers of stores and sales per stores. The data has been available from the ABA for several years but tends to be ignored, since it doesnąt fit the standard narrative. There are obvious lessons for libraries and publishers. Along similar lines, an excellent article from this past Sunday by the NYTąs David Carr points to the continuing relevance of print: http://tinyurl.com/qgovqz7 Scott T Scott Plutchak Director UAB Lister Hill Library On 12/31/13, 10:03 PM, "LIBLICENSE" <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >From: Joseph Esposito <[log in to unmask]> >Date: Tue, 31 Dec 2013 08:23:29 -0500 > >A Web column on having public libraries sell ebooks: > >http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2013/a-new-years-vision-of-the-future-of-l >ibraries-as-ebookstores/?et_mid=654523&rid=240985815 > >The argument is that libraries can fill the void in a community >created by the collapse of independent bookstores and that the revenue >the libraries receive would help in the maintenance of the library >itself. > >Joe Esposito