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Originally Posted by pwalker8
Hum, not around here libraries don't. Perhaps in some communities.
I think you are kind of missing the point and are falling into the "I do things this way, therefore everyone must want to do it this way" trap. A lot of people prefer face to face meetings. The social media crowd already has Goodreads, Facebook and other such venues, but the people who are more likely to buy in person are the sort of people who do like getting out and meeting people rather than doing everything online. Some people are simply social and enjoy being around other people.
I know a few people who are in book clubs. They meet together every few weeks to have coffee and talk about a specific book. It very much is a social event. I don't think that any actually meet at a bookstore per se, but it's the sort of thing that bookstores that have survived do. That's what many bookstores use to do. Book clubs, author events, that sort of thing. I can remember a time when the local B&N use to have a calendar listing their events and a little area for such events.
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Clearly I do not assume that the people who do frequent such events are like me, since I basically don't attend such events. Nevertheless I am very glad that they continue to have the opportunity to pursue what interests them. Some surviving bookstores do indeed tout this social engagement as integral to their relative success, though I have not come across any hard data to support or explain this, or for that matter to quantify it. Are there only a few areas this approach works, or is there a magic formula for success?
My point is that this social function is not something which is peculiar only to bookstores, nor are bookstores peculiarly suited to do it to the exclusion of all others. Nor do I think it is a worthwhile marketing tactic for a bookstore in all but a few areas. Certainly in many areas a library with sufficient copies of a book available to borrow at no cost would be far more attractive than a bookstore trying to flog as many full priced hardback new releases as they could.
It is interesting that your local libraries are not filling this role. I suspect that if these social bookshops were to meet their demise, the libraries may well step in if there is sufficient demand. They may do so anyway, as the role of the library has, as discussed, changed significantly and continues to change. Libraries becoming social hubs are peculiarly suitable to social activities such as book clubs, author signings and the like.