In their latest issue, SLUG (SaltLakeUnderGround) magazine profiles one of my favorite booksellers, Ken Sanders. The piece written by Erik Lopez is titled Ken Sanders: Pimp of the Printed Word and provides us a glimpse into the rich world of Sanders.Sanders, who is celebrating the 10 year anniversary of his bookshop, has also achieved success as a publisher, his Dream Garden Press has published a Robert Crumb illustrated version of Edward Abbey's environmental classic Monkey Wrench Gang, and more recently has become an expert in the field of stolen books. His recent tenure as head of the Security division of...
James Lackington: 18th Century Bookseller Extraordinaire
William Wallis (fl.1816-1855) after Thomas Hosmer Shepherd (1793-1864), Temple of the Muses, Finsbury Square. London: Jones & Co., 1828. Etching and aquatint with added hand-coloring. James Lackington was the most successful bookseller of the 18th century.His legendary shop at Finsbury Square in London was named "The Temple of the Muses" and when the flag was raised on the huge dome outside it meant Lackington was inside and ready to do business.Lackington revolutionized the book trade by becoming the first bookseller to refuse to sell books on credit. His cash only approach allowed him to offer books less expensively. Lackington also...
The Internet and the Traditional Bookseller: A Failing Relationship
Here is my piece that runs in the latest issue of Amphora, the magazine of the Alcuin Society. I have been waiting on posting this in hopes that they would be putting the new issue online but with things changing so fast in the online bookselling world I thought it was time to get it out there.I wrote the piece back in August and since then both AbeBooks and Alibris have lost their Chief Executives. A telling sign that things are 1) not what they used to be and 2) significant changes are on the horizon. One of the first...
Digitization and the Bookseller
BooksnapWelcome to the next disruptive technology for the book trade.The force of commerce and the march of technology are soon to meet again at the booksellers door. The door might not be open for long but if entered correctly it might become a new source of revenue for the bookseller.Once Google's romance with the libraries is over do you think Google will stop looking for other sources of information to feed the machine?I would guess within 5 years or so Google will have cycled through the library trade and determined who they will be playing with and they will know...
New York Booksellers Ask Spitzer to Reconsider Online Sales Tax
Last week, 29 New York State bookstores all members of the American Bookseller Association (ABA), signed on to a letter sent to Governor Spitzer asking him to revisit his recent decision not to "enforce sales tax laws" or more precisely to start collecting sales tax from online retailers (ie. Amazon).Somehow they believe this will help level the playing field in the bookselling world. Do they not realize that many of their customers buy books online too? and that even if they had to pay sale tax the book will still be cheaper when purchased online!Also, the 'independent businesses are vital...