LISNews: Librarian News

WSJ had an article titled "Borders' about-face aims for book sales". I am linking to the article in a Detroit paper because it was reprinted there and you can see the full-text. The article is not available at WSJ without a subscription. At the WSJ opinion page some book sellers have written to comment on the article. The original story is here and the commentary by the other book sellers is here.

Joe Wikert's Publishing 2020 Blog Notes Borders is announcing plans to feature more titles face-out on the shelves, resulting in fewer titles in each store.

Perhaps it's time to look at all the available real estate in the store and come up with some innovative ways to maintain broad selection while still moving to this face-out model. After all, it's better for a customer to discover a book is in the store (but not on the shelf) via a kiosk or clerk than to walk away without making a purchase, right?

Two questions come to mind?
So if book stores start carrying fewer titles do we have an advantage at libraries?
Could/Should libraries go face-out?

Who (and/or whom) do you want to dictate your taste in books...

1) Amazon
2) Costco
3) Starbucks
4) a librarian
or
5) thank you I'll make up my own damn mind?

The New York Times talks about the book buyers for those three retailers, and the fact that all are headquartered in America's most literate city, Seattle.

Librarian and book guru Nancy Pearl is also highlighted as an arbiter of literary taste, and her start in Seattle is documented in this article.

"Once I could have sold my books to any number of local used bookshops for a reasonable sum--now nobody much wants anything, aside from rarities--because everything is available online. I myself understand the attractiveness of being able to buy everything you want, but I don't like the whole outlook. It's like a billionaire buying a beautiful woman any time he wants one to sleep with--where's the romance, where's the excitement, the heartache, the attendant glories and sorrows of romance? Once it was exciting to go out 'booking'--and there were scores of places to go. But now, now. To make everything freely available makes everything seem that much less interesting and desirable. But I begin to rant."--Michael Dirda in a discussion held Wednesday at the Washington Post.