There is no question that technology has greatly impacting the bookselling world. The book world was on of the first industries turned upside down by the Internet and e-commerce. It is still an industry in transition but there is one aspect of these technologies that has had an immediate and positive impact.
Catching Book Thieves!
A post on Tech Ramblings from the Book Trade yesterday alerted the world to a suspected book thief who might of swiped a couple of books from the venerable London bookseller, Maggs earlier in the day. Mug shots and all.
In Seattle we have the Stolen Book Network – an email list of over 50 booksellers in the Seattle area and a few others in Western Washington. The list is maintained by Louis Collins. Who, when notified of a potential theft, alerts the bookselling community as soon as possible so that they may be on the lookout for the stolen books.
It is a very effective tool that has worked in both catching and deterring local book thieves