Bookstores: Digital or paper? Or both? - Page 2

NatCh · 03-21-2007, 01:13 PM

There's also the factor that some folks just like bookstores. I enjoy going to the local B&N for an hour or two even when I'm pretty sure I won't buy anything.

It's not something that everyone would have to do for stores to continue, just enough folks to continue to make it viable.

They might have to continue to add other offerings ... perhaps the Book Store of the Future will be a glorified FourBuck's with some sort of electronic arrangement to allow browsing both 'shelves' and 'books,' who knows?

nekokami · 03-21-2007, 03:16 PM

Art magazines and coffee table books still don't work for me in digital format. Maybe someday.

Meanwhile, I really miss small-town bookstores where I knew the staff and we could talk about books. Just imagine -- a small-town style bookstore that could hold Barnes & Noble sized inventory... with comfortable chairs, sample e-readers of various types to try out, content that can be sampled on the store's readers or your own, good music playing (because a small store can be more focused on a particular group of customers and their tastes), and maybe even snacks & beverages, because why not?

And there could be author visits, lecture series, book groups, stuff like that.

radleyp · 03-21-2007, 03:25 PM

My point is not that there is no point to a bookstore. I go to bookstores a lot, to browse, and to buy PRINT books, but not to buy ebooks which, of course, I can't handle or fondle the way I can a "dead tree" (an awful term, regularly and derogatorily used by a number of people in this forum) volume. I do see people in bookstore cafes with their own computers, which they can use to buy ebooks - they do not need to use one provided by the bookstore itself - which also means that they don't have to be physically present in the bookstore to do so.

nekokami · 03-21-2007, 03:31 PM

I'm picturing kiosks which would display "cover" art and pages of selected books on some kind of rotating basis, stationed around the store, probably magnified so one could see them from a bit of a distance.

Writing workshops would be cool, too. Yes, you can do them online, but sometimes things are a bit more fun in person.

I think independent local bookstores with large digital inventories could become part of the decentralization of the publishing/selling process. They would succeed for somewhat different reasons than the large bookstores are successful now, but I think they could be just as successful.

RWood · 03-21-2007, 04:00 PM

As much as I might like it to work, it will fail if tried on a large scale. Sure here and there it might work -- for a time. People want to walk out of a bookstore with something solid in their hands. They buy substance, not arranged electrons.

Remember some years ago the "print on demand" machines that cropped up in bookstores that allowed you to buy thousands of books that were not stocked and they would be printed and bound while you waited. They're gone. Dead. Mostly forgotten.

eBooks in bookstores and even most bookstores will also be gone soon.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 03-22-2007, 10:02 PM

I used to like to hang out at bookstores... specifically, my local bookstore where the owner and clerks knew me, knew my tastes, knew their inventory, and therefore could steer me towards great material, and discuss it intelligently. Alas, I don't get that from Borders or B&N megastores, so I only go when I want a certain book... that day... and I expect to be able to get it there.

While it's true that I would want to leave a bookstore with a product in my hands... if I went there and they did not have the book I wanted (something that happens quite often to me), I would be more than satisfied to be able to have an e-book of the title e-mailed to me by the time I get home. Maybe even to order the print book, and get the e-book e-mailed to me anyway.

The value of this is, to me, twofold: One, you at least get the book in e-format, even if you wanted print; and Two, it gets e-books out there for more people to think about and try, and spreads their market. So I'm okay with the idea, in theory at least. I'd like to see how they come out in practice, what formats are available, cost, DRM, etc.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 03-22-2007, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RWood

Remember some years ago the "print on demand" machines that cropped up in bookstores that allowed you to buy thousands of books that were not stocked and they would be printed and bound while you waited.

Matter of fact, I remember hearing about them, but never finding a bookstore that actually had them (another example of bait-and-switch marketing)! And yeah, I could see the e-book idea becoming one of those "offered in select stores only" things that you find in exactly six stores nationwide (Hackensack, Tulsa, Reading, Kokomo, Walla Walla and Lake George)...

...please, no comments from Hackensack, Tulsa, Reading, Kokomo, Walla Walla and Lake George...

VillageReader · 03-22-2007, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NatCh

There's also the factor that some folks just like bookstores. I enjoy going to the local B&N for an hour or two even when I'm pretty sure I won't buy anything.

I don't have enough money or shelf space to spend that long in a B&N.

Azayzel · 03-23-2007, 01:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Matter of fact, I remember hearing about them, but never finding a bookstore that actually had them (another example of bait-and-switch marketing)! And yeah, I could see the e-book idea becoming one of those "offered in select stores only" things that you find in exactly six stores nationwide (Hackensack, Tulsa, Reading, Kokomo, Walla Walla and Lake George)...

...please, no comments from Hackensack, Tulsa, Reading, Kokomo, Walla Walla and Lake George...

That would have been too cool, if it actually materialized. I wonder how it would work for binding, etc., and how much it would have cost to print-on-demand.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 03-23-2007, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azayzel

That would have been too cool, if it actually materialized. I wonder how it would work for binding, etc., and how much it would have cost to print-on-demand.

I never found out. In related news, record stores advertised for awhile the ability to burn select music tracks onto a custom CD, also on-demand while you wait. Never saw that equipment in a record store either.

RWood · 03-23-2007, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

I never found out. In related news, record stores advertised for awhile the ability to burn select music tracks onto a custom CD, also on-demand while you wait. Never saw that equipment in a record store either.

The old Tower Records in NW Washington, DC near George Washington University had one for a while. Always very limited selection and "not in service" most of the time.

nekokami · 03-23-2007, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

I never found out. In related news, record stores advertised for awhile the ability to burn select music tracks onto a custom CD, also on-demand while you wait. Never saw that equipment in a record store either.

I saw one of those here in NH. I never tried it -- couldn't afford it at the time. (I got most of my music as holiday gifts at that point in my life.)

NatCh · 03-23-2007, 09:14 AM

I seem to recall having seen one (of the music kind) at some point, but not where or when.

I only ever saw the book kind on TV.

Robert Marquard · 03-23-2007, 09:15 AM

I think bookstores will adapt to ebooks just like they adapted to audiobooks.

nekokami · 03-23-2007, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert Marquard

I think bookstores will adapt to ebooks just like they adapted to audiobooks.

Sell them on CD?

03-21-2007, 03:16 PM	#17
nekokami fruminous edugeek Posts: 6,745 Karma: 551260 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northeast US Device: iPad, eBw 1150	Art magazines and coffee table books still don't work for me in digital format. Maybe someday. Meanwhile, I really miss small-town bookstores where I knew the staff and we could talk about books. Just imagine -- a small-town style bookstore that could hold Barnes & Noble sized inventory... with comfortable chairs, sample e-readers of various types to try out, content that can be sampled on the store's readers or your own, good music playing (because a small store can be more focused on a particular group of customers and their tastes), and maybe even snacks & beverages, because why not? And there could be author visits, lecture series, book groups, stuff like that. Last edited by nekokami; 03-21-2007 at 03:22 PM. Reason: hit save too early

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03-21-2007, 01:13 PM	#16
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	There's also the factor that some folks just like bookstores. I enjoy going to the local B&N for an hour or two even when I'm pretty sure I won't buy anything. It's not something that everyone would have to do for stores to continue, just enough folks to continue to make it viable. They might have to continue to add other offerings ... perhaps the Book Store of the Future will be a glorified FourBuck's with some sort of electronic arrangement to allow browsing both 'shelves' and 'books,' who knows?

03-21-2007, 03:25 PM	#18
radleyp Evangelist Posts: 499 Karma: 20623 Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: North Salem & NYC, NY Device: Kindle Global, iphone4, ipad	My point is not that there is no point to a bookstore. I go to bookstores a lot, to browse, and to buy PRINT books, but not to buy ebooks which, of course, I can't handle or fondle the way I can a "dead tree" (an awful term, regularly and derogatorily used by a number of people in this forum) volume. I do see people in bookstore cafes with their own computers, which they can use to buy ebooks - they do not need to use one provided by the bookstore itself - which also means that they don't have to be physically present in the bookstore to do so.

03-21-2007, 03:31 PM	#19
nekokami fruminous edugeek Posts: 6,745 Karma: 551260 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northeast US Device: iPad, eBw 1150	I'm picturing kiosks which would display "cover" art and pages of selected books on some kind of rotating basis, stationed around the store, probably magnified so one could see them from a bit of a distance. Writing workshops would be cool, too. Yes, you can do them online, but sometimes things are a bit more fun in person. I think independent local bookstores with large digital inventories could become part of the decentralization of the publishing/selling process. They would succeed for somewhat different reasons than the large bookstores are successful now, but I think they could be just as successful.

03-21-2007, 04:00 PM	#20
RWood Technogeezer Posts: 7,233 Karma: 1601464 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Virginia, USA Device: Sony PRS-500	As much as I might like it to work, it will fail if tried on a large scale. Sure here and there it might work -- for a time. People want to walk out of a bookstore with something solid in their hands. They buy substance, not arranged electrons. Remember some years ago the "print on demand" machines that cropped up in bookstores that allowed you to buy thousands of books that were not stocked and they would be printed and bound while you waited. They're gone. Dead. Mostly forgotten. eBooks in bookstores and even most bookstores will also be gone soon.

03-22-2007, 10:02 PM	#21
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	I used to like to hang out at bookstores... specifically, my local bookstore where the owner and clerks knew me, knew my tastes, knew their inventory, and therefore could steer me towards great material, and discuss it intelligently. Alas, I don't get that from Borders or B&N megastores, so I only go when I want a certain book... that day... and I expect to be able to get it there. While it's true that I would want to leave a bookstore with a product in my hands... if I went there and they did not have the book I wanted (something that happens quite often to me), I would be more than satisfied to be able to have an e-book of the title e-mailed to me by the time I get home. Maybe even to order the print book, and get the e-book e-mailed to me anyway. The value of this is, to me, twofold: One, you at least get the book in e-format, even if you wanted print; and Two, it gets e-books out there for more people to think about and try, and spreads their market. So I'm okay with the idea, in theory at least. I'd like to see how they come out in practice, what formats are available, cost, DRM, etc.

03-23-2007, 09:14 AM	#28
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	I seem to recall having seen one (of the music kind) at some point, but not where or when. I only ever saw the book kind on TV.

03-23-2007, 09:15 AM	#29
Robert Marquard Delphi-Guy Posts: 285 Karma: 1151 Join Date: May 2006 Location: Berlin, Germany Device: iLiad, Palm T3	I think bookstores will adapt to ebooks just like they adapted to audiobooks.

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