That’s the title of her long article on her blog, Booksquare. Well worth reading. Here’s a snippet from the middle:
I truly wonder what publishers are doing for the booksellers they understand are their best marketing asset. I cannot stop thinking about this, particularly in light of what is happening with Borders. I keep questioning whether the past few decades have created an environment where independent booksellers have a seat at the grown-ups table…a seat where they are heard in a serious manner.
Then I thought about the fact that the bookseller of tomorrow — nay, today! — is not necessarily located in a physical location. In theory, we have an ecosystem that allows anyone to become a bookseller (my panel will address this notion, and they do have great thoughts on this topic). But not every bookseller occupies a bricks-and-mortar, or, heck, concrete and wood, space. That does not mean the bookseller cannot fulfill, beautifully, the same functions someone in a bricks-and-mortar store does. It’s a matter of using the medium, store or website, to serve customers best.
So, for me, the question becomes one of helping independent bookstores thrive. In the mega-store, if you like, category we have Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders (yeah, but until that TKO happens), Costco, Target, Apple (in theory), and Google. Two of the above offer a highly curated, limited selection. One hasn’t demonstrated a serious interest in selling books. The others dominate the marketplace, but don’t always meet the needs of today’s consumers.
Ms Krozser’s blog is so very quaint. I find her emotional optimism quite touching really. It is however enormously silly in it’s faith in the world sharing her emotional dependance on paper and on cozy little corner book shops.
Personally I will be delighted when small book stores fade into history. Small poky, uncomfortable shops where the choice of books is decided on by a cozy combination of the book store owner and the distributor, for the convenience of their bank accounts and not the customer. Yuk.
Book sales are buoyant she says. Probably because so many buy online because they feel no need to buy in book stores, for the same reason as me.