Trust the machine - Samantha WeberSeattle's Evening Magazine visited the King County Public Library distribution center to profile the "Tin Man," the largest book-sorting machine in the country and the humans that feed it.The monster is half the size of a football field and processes between 38-45,000 books a day.Its job is to Sort-Scan-Plop, Sort-Scan-Plop all day long.Interesting tidbit - aside from the King County Library system having the largest book-sorting operation for physical books they also lend more ebooks than any other library system in the country!And as an...
Advertising on the dust jacket
Dust jacket used by The Book Inn Lending Library, Seattle Washington ca. 1930's. Long before the Kindle Lending Library there were actual brick and mortar lending libraries. These were not public libraries but part of the offerings of book and department stores. Most charged a daily, weekly or monthly rate and many used their own printed dust jackets to both protect the book and as a revenue stream.Above is one used by The Book Inn Lending Library in Seattle. It features a slew of local advertising from neighborhood merchants (the library was in the now trending Ballard neighborhood). The ads feature the usual suspects;...
Walking in War & Peace
click to enlargeFor the next week A.K. "Mimi" Allin will be walking on a red carpet in Seattle's Occidental Park reading Leo Tolstoy's War & Peace aloud. Dressed in the fashions of the period with a custom-made book harness strapped to her body; Allin stands at one end of the red carpet waiting for someone to accompany her down the aisle.Here's how it works:Those who join me, tell me their full name and take me by the arm. As we walk, I read to them from War & Peace which is strapped to my body with a specially-designed book harness....
American Junkie
If you’ve ever stood in front of the mirror and knew you'd be a better rock star than anyone ever dreamed, and later that night made it ever more true by getting drunk and higher than Jesus, then you'll like this book. If you've ever lined up coke or heroin but didn't have the guts to shoot it straight to your blood, you'll love this book. If you’ve ever wondered why people do drugs even when it’s killing them and they know it, this book will help you understand. And if you think that all junkies are nothing but degenerates,...
From the Square to the Hill: Elliott Bay Book Company is on the move
Now it is official. The Elliott Bay Book Company, the retail centerpiece of Seattle's Pioneer Square neighborhood for over 35 years, will be packing up and moving to Capitol Hill.It is a sad day. For the city as a whole, for Pioneer Square in particular and in some sense for EBBC as well.Our book shop has been a block or less away from EBBC for over 15 years. We have seen, felt and have been affected by all the issues EBBC attributes as factors for their decision. Bookselling can be a very competitive business. When you look at the pressures...