Today isthe first observance of National Bookstore Day, the Publishers Weekly-sponsored holiday designed to draw attention to the nation's independent bookstores. More than 140 independent stores are participating, according to PW, the journal of record for book publishing and bookselling. The new holiday will always fall on the first Saturday in November.
PW's goal is to draw new customers to independents, but National Bookstore Day is also a time to reflect on the diverse roles that bookstores play in our society. Some bookstores, like Book Passage in Corte Madera, function as full-blown cultural centers offering classes, workshops, talks and signings.
Nor are these activities confined to independent bookstores. Chains, like Barnes and Noble, offer a safe place for kids to hang out and can also function as study halls where high school and college students can find a quiet place to do their homework. Our economic crisis has closed many branch libraries or restricted their hours and bookstores are a quiet place to study and read, whether chain or independent.
When Amazon was founded in the mid-nineties, independent bookstores comprised about 30% of the market, according to estimates from the American Booksellers Association and Publishers Weekly. Today, independent bookstores hold less than an 8% market share. Bookstores are fast becoming showrooms for online booksellers.
It used to be said that the loss of independent bookstores would leave control of what was being published under the purview of a handful of buyers. That the danger in losing the independents was the loss of cultural diversity and a concentration of standing inventory into commercial titles.
With the shrinkage of independent bookselling, the loss to society is far greater. Gone would be those bookstores where we were exposed to new ideas, where we could reflect on an author's message delivered in his own words and share our conclusions with neighbors, where our children could go after school and the youngest of them hear a story read aloud.
The culture is no longer in a struggle between chainstores and independents. It is in a struggle between brick and mortar stores that offer many cultural benefits and virtual stores that offer discounts, convenience and little else.
Books make great gifts. Go to your favorite bookstore this Saturday and buy someone a gift in commemoration of National Bookstore Day. While you still can.
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