[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

There are very few left. Those that survive are almost all used book stores, and they are struggling. That's why I was careful to say that the rise in e-books has "added to the increase in the number of neighborhood bookstores that are closing their doors." The rise of e-books is hardly solely responsible for the demise of the neighborhood bookstore. As I've said elsewhere, the first direct attack on mom and pop bookstores can no doubt be traced to the arrival of the big bookstore chains, but the overall decline of reading in the 20th century can most probably be traced to the advent of radio and later TV.

I think the key to the survival of book stores is to: (1) add support for the current ebook technology, (2) maintain support for pbooks, (3) add an emphasis on the types of books that are not suitable for ebook readers, and (4) and to diversify into other related areas (such as portable music).

What I think is likely is that the local book store will not disappear. Rather, the number of them will reduce to a level that can be supported by the local economy. It could be that book stores will evolve into a regional type of store, with one store for a relatively large geographic area (such as one store that support three or four nearby towns/cities).