The numbers are brutal. Hardly anyone bought anything in the month of October. According to the ICSC-Goldman Sachs index, retailers had their weakest October performance since the index’s inception in 1969! If this trend keeps up through the holiday season it is safe to say that January will become National Bankruptcy Month.
How the economic meltdown will ultimately play out in the book world remains to be seen, but early indicators are pointing to a significant shakeout.
In a memo to his employees last week Barnes and Noble Chairman Leonard Riggio said “Never in all of the years I’ve been in business [which is over 40 years] have I seen a worse outlook for the economy. And never in all my years as a bookseller have I seen a retail climate as poor as the one we are in. Nothing even close.”
In the same week Border’s, who had been struggling when times were good, informed one of their distributor’s “that they will not be paying… [them] for two months due to anticipated excessive returns.”
Such doom an gloom begs the question: What would a post-chain book world look like?
First, we must do all we can to prevent any type of government intervention or bailout of the corporate book industry. Any attempt to try and salvage a dying model would be futile.
We need to replace the mantra of shareholder value with community value.
Then we must do all we can to promote a new community-based model that integrates the full spectrum of the book world.
Let’s turn many of those soon to be vacant chain stores into vibrant book centers where communities can revel in all things book. Places where you can buy books, make books, learn about books and yes, see books! Readings and workshops, exhibits and new technologies all have a place in the post-chain world.
The government can do quite a bit to help the formation of this new model. They can assist in providing low-interest loans to individuals, businesses or non-profits to create book centers in cities and communities all over this country. This new model can be part of the WPA approach that many see as the way out of the current mess. Authors, book artists, illustrators and printers would all have a place to share their work and to educate their communities.
I trust that we can not only can recover very quickly from the lose of chain bookselling but that we have the opportunity to reestablish the book as a cultural centerpiece for generations to come.