If it’s a surprise to you that the retail print book business is struggling, then you should read this week’s New Republic. Writer Alex Shepherd reports there his discovery that Barnes & Noble is operating at a loss. Should this trend continue, he warns, the...
Libraries provide a welcoming space for the public to explore the world’s knowledge or to enjoy the uplifting distractions of a good book. Librarians who offer such a welcome are also ready to stand for principle when the moment calls for it. On a week of...
What entertainment medium can possibly resist the online, digital tidal wave? The hope that books may stand where others have fallen lies in declining e-book sales; yet publishers are left pondering what is the underlying cause. This week, a respected industry analyst...
Whether on a campus or at the center of a community, a library always has one foot planted in the past with the other stepping toward the future. Libraries collect and share humanity’s most celebrated authors and thinkers from across the millennia, even as they search...
There are ways to make information pay, and many of them have nothing to do with profit. It’s a generally accepted principle of business today that social responsibility enhances a company’s brand reputation. At Thursday’s annual “Making Information Pay” conference in...
On Tuesday, Amazon founder and chairman Jeff Bezos confirmed that the online retailer plans to open more physical stores. Amazon opened its first physical store, Amazon Books, in Seattle in 2015; later this year, the company will open a bookstore in San Diego. “Bezos...
The winds of change are blowing at BookExpo America. This week, the publishing industry’s top trade show arrived in Chicago for the first time since 2004. Hardly anyone considers the Javits Convention Center in Manhattan to be comfortable, though the book business may...
In recent months, e-book sales figures have flattened or fallen. A pair of e-book sales initiatives announced this week could provide a boost to publishers’ digital fortunes. Shelfie, the book discovery app that allows readers to essentially digitize their print...
Over a half century of business transformation and reinvention, one figure has persisted in the book trade. Len Riggio, the founder and chairman of Barnes & Noble, built a bookselling empire that remains the nation’s largest – even if it also the last of its kind....
The path leading to the marble steps of the United States Supreme Court building demands patience from all parties. When at last the journey ends, the justices offer no consolation other than their opinions. On Monday this week, the long road ended for the Authors...
