http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2013/02/0...ble-publishing
I heard this story on my local NPR station while driving this afternoon. I would listen to the story if you can as it goes into more depth that the short published article. It's only about 7 minutes. Although I think the man interviewed, Dennis Johnson, is too pessimistic, he discusses some interesting points.
His assertion is that if B&N goes under, publishing may not survive because B&N served as a book showroom. Without a place to showroom books, Johnson believes that both the pulp and e-books market will plummet. Again, I thought he was too pessimistic. I don't go to B&N for books any more since their book collection stinks. I usually peruse the library, go to Goodreads or go to various book selling sites like Kobo to get suggestions on what to read. Additionally, sites like Amazon usually provide a sample to read.
However, book showrooms may still influence a lot of other customers.