RE: Are we helping the bookshop disappear?
This post was last modified: 21 Apr 2016 07:55 AM by B J Burton.
Before I retired I ran a publishing business and had painful experience of the decline of bookshops. It began well before ebooks became popular. As Katherine says, charity shops have had a huge impact. One of our connections had an Oxfam specialist bookshop open a few yards away. There was no competing with a business that had free stock, volunteer staff and reduced business rates. Amazon's print copy service also had a major impact, of course.I think that losing bookshops is a sad state of affairs. I've enjoyed many happy times in them attending book-signings. Not just my own - I've had some lovely chats with authors such as George Melly, 'Dickie' Bird and Eric Sykes. I really enjoy going into a bookshop with a grandchild clutching their pocket money and watching them spend lots of time making their selections.
However, the decline does seem to be going into reverse. Big publishers appear to have belatedly realised that their remaining High Street retailers deserve more support and book sellers are becoming more creative with how they conduct their business. Long may they continue.