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?
Question 1: Maybe … if
Question 1: Maybe … if libraries could bring together all the borrowing options into one interface. If I search for a title in the catalog and the library doesn’t have it, it would be nice if a more comprehensive source (e.g. worldcat) could return results along with an easy process for requesting the item. Quick turn around is also important.
Question 2: I’ve always thought libraries should go ‘face out” in the reference section. Each discipline has a few core tomes and a few really cool ones. With some careful thought to design and some cozy chairs, underutilized print reference collections could become a browsers dream. This is especially true for academic collections where casual browsing in the regular stacks is rarely enticing or feasible.