A recent issue of Philadelphia Inquirer carried a paean to the independent bookstore in the form of a recounting of the amazing story of Sylvia Beach’s Shakespeare and Company in Paris.
On the occasion of the announcement of the closing of Philadelphia’s Robin’s Bookstore, the Inquirer carried an homage to Larry Robin, its owner, and Paul Hogan, its manager. This article, too, was framed by the oft-told story of the demise of the independent bookstore.
The closing of independent bookstores is not mysterious, nor is it inevitable: Closings are due to conscious and unconscious decisions of customers and government. French and German bookstores are doing fine. Last spring, I found three large, well-stocked and well-staffed independent bookstores within two blocks in Berlin. In June, the New York Times reported on the robust bookstore business in France.
Why are French and German stores doing fine and American stores closing? Because the government allows Amazon to sell books and e-books at and even below cost so it can drive competitors out of business. Customers not only support Amazon’s efforts by buying at the lowest price, but also buying all their books and e-books from Amazon even when it does not offer a cheaper price. Do the government and customers believe Amazon will sell at and below cost when it has destroyed its competition? Do they think publishers will not be at the mercy of whatever Amazon might like to pay them — or be cut out of the marketplace all ttogether?
Independent bookstores appreciate the paeans and homages to the services we offer. But the praise rarely recognizes the fundamental benefits of our stores: intelligent selection of inventory, readings by established and new authors, personal attention to a customer’s needs, a living presence on the street that distinguishes one city from another. Amazon pays minimum wage for short-term jobs in sweltering warehouses. The people who lose their jobs in bookstores are unlikely candidates for those warehouse jobs. Hymns to stores are no substitute for an explanation of why this country is allowing Amazon to destroy the book industry.
The survival of Giovanni’s Room is due to the exceptional loyalty of our customers. Through the efforts of the American Booksellers Association, we are able to offer five million books and three million e-books through our website, queerbooks.com. But the deafening roar of the Amazon juggernaut has misled millions into thinking Amazon is the only reasonable source of books and e-books. Who knows how long our business will be able to attract new customers with the relentless assertion of a hopeless future for independent bookstores? With, seemingly, every publisher and every author tying themselves to the leviathan of Amazon, it won’t be long before younger people will see bookstores as museums of an outdated way of life.
— Ed Hermance Owner, Giovanni’s Room Philadelphia