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I read an article today from the Baltimore Sun about How Baltimore's Independent Bookstores Are Thriving In The Age of Amazon'
It's an interesting article. It talks about how independent (non-chain) bookstores are evolving to attract and retain customers—and it's working.
I'm curious about your book-buying and reading experience.
What are the local bookstores like? Independents, chains, used book stores, Friends of the Library bookstores, Comic stores, specialty stores (for instance, Christian or Jewish or non-English or Technical book stores)?
Do you buy printed books?
Where do you buy them? (Describe the kind of book store; Amazon, another online retailer, used online retailer, chain, local independent . . . .)
How many printed books did you buy last year, roughly?
How many digital books did you buy last year, roughly?
How does that compare to this year?
Why did you buy the last printed book you bought? (A friend, a review, an advertisement, a favorite author, you've been looking for it . . . .)
Do you use a local library? What do you use/borrow (Internet at the library, login to the library site, borrow ebooks/digital media, borrow printed books . . . )
Any general comments about your local book scene?
I'd be interested in any anecdotal comments, general observations, etc. I'm going to post this, then click Reply and answer myself.
It's an interesting article. It talks about how independent (non-chain) bookstores are evolving to attract and retain customers—and it's working.
For the last decade, pundits have decried the imminent death of the publishing industry and in particular, of brick-and-mortar book bins, which peaked in the 1990s at about 3,000 stores, according to the American Booksellers Association. The stratospheric rise of Amazon supposedly had placed the indies on life support, just as eBooks were thought to be killing off physical volumes. The statistics were grim — from 1995 to 2009, the number of independent bookstores in the nation fell by a staggering 43 percent. Later, the highly visible shuttering of behemoth Borders Books in 2011 lent credence to the gloomy prognosis.
But not only did the independents refuse to die, they rebounded and even experienced a growth spurt. In 2018, the ABA has 1,835 members operating 2,470 locations — a 31 percent increase in companies and a 49.6 percent increase in the number of physical stores in just nine years.
I'm curious about your book-buying and reading experience.
What are the local bookstores like? Independents, chains, used book stores, Friends of the Library bookstores, Comic stores, specialty stores (for instance, Christian or Jewish or non-English or Technical book stores)?
Do you buy printed books?
Where do you buy them? (Describe the kind of book store; Amazon, another online retailer, used online retailer, chain, local independent . . . .)
How many printed books did you buy last year, roughly?
How many digital books did you buy last year, roughly?
How does that compare to this year?
Why did you buy the last printed book you bought? (A friend, a review, an advertisement, a favorite author, you've been looking for it . . . .)
Do you use a local library? What do you use/borrow (Internet at the library, login to the library site, borrow ebooks/digital media, borrow printed books . . . )
Any general comments about your local book scene?
I'd be interested in any anecdotal comments, general observations, etc. I'm going to post this, then click Reply and answer myself.