Today’s Washington Post carries some gloomy statistics about book sales, including one publishing executive’s observation that “total sales of trade units declined 6.4 percent in 2001,” with more trouble ahead.

Significantly, Michael Cader of Cader Books warns of “a potential decline in young readers.”

In interpreting a report from the Book Industry Study Group, Cader says the sales problem “raises urgent questions about everything from book pricing to how we treat reading in our society and use technology to grow audiences.”

A May 3 news release from BISG puts a more positive spin on its stats. Still, it’s clear that the book business is hardly one of America’s fastest growing.

Perhaps the industry should think about a TeleRead-style approach. It would not instantly boost paper sales but at least would help pave the way for the success of e-books on the Net. When introduced to e-books at a young age, children can respond enthusiastically.

Under TeleRead, books would be a true part of the Net, and readers could simultaneously search databases for books covered by a National Digital Library Fund and those that were not. TeleRead could rely on both public and private resources. Here’s a chance for Bill Gates and other billionaires to to be Carnegies for real. While an NDL couldn’t pay for all books still under copyright, it could focus on the best and those most helpful to, say, K-12.

An aside: Cader’s PublishersLunch newsletter is a great way to find out about the workings of the book business.

NO COMMENTS

The TeleRead community values your civil and thoughtful comments. We use a cache, so expect a delay. Problems? E-mail newteleread@gmail.com.