It was great to see an article on a book scout get coverage in the blogosphere and in the papers, GalleyCat covered it and the Seattle times picked up the AP story as well.
The article, “Rare Finds Make Stacks of Cash for Book Scouts” was written for the AP by Kevin Sampsell.
The problem is that the article is more of a commercial for Powell’s than an appreciation of book scouts.
Why:
The article was written for the AP by Kevin Sampsell, a long time Powell’s employee and the scout that is the subject of the article Wayne Pernu used to work for Powell’s and who I am sure has supplied Powells with a boatload of books over the years.
The image used in the story is a copy of Charlotte’s Web with the caption. “A rare first edition of “Charlotte’s Web” for sale at Powell’s is worth more than $1,000.” not a picture of the book scout or a library sale.
A first edition of Charlotte’s Web is not a rare book. There over 30 copies available on the market today.
The article begins:
“Carefully and lovingly displayed in the Rare Book Room at Powell’s Books in Portland is an original edition of the Lewis and Clark journals. At $285,000, it’s the crown jewel in a room full of gems…But where do they come from and who finds them?”
Not book scouts. Yes it is possible to find such a book at a garage sale or at a library sale but the odds are greater then winning the Lotto. Powell’s did not get the first edition of Lewis & Clark from a book scout and it also about $100,000 overpriced.
Book Scouts like booksellers have seen their vocation turned upside down by technology in the last ten years and deserve the exposure that this story has garnered but unfortunately this story has very little to do with the current plight of scouts.
Powell’s claims to be the largest independent used and new bookstore in the world. They operate five retail locations and five warehouses in Oregon.
But it is a story like this that shows that Powell’s has pulled away from the independent values that molded the company and are quickly moving toward a corporate culture and existence.
After all weren’t Barnes and Noble independent booksellers once.
“The Barnes & Noble flagship store was opened on Fifth Avenue at 18th Street in New York City, where it still resides today. This store developed a worldwide reputation for excellence by serving millions of customers with its comprehensive selection” from the B&N website
If you close your eyes and substitute Burnside for Fifth Avenue and 18th Street you would be talking about the Powell’s of today. Spooky.