Wally Metts (@wmetts) is director of graduate studies in communication at Spring Arbor University. He’s also a consultant, teacher, and journalist. He writes the blog “the daysman.” In a recent post he reviews the current state of affairs in bookselling and concludes, “It’s the end of the bookstore as we know it. Wait, didn’t I see that in You’ve Got Mail? The Shop Around the Corner? But now it’s the big chains and not the independents that are struggling.” He identifies two new developments contributing to the current situation:
First, the Kindle got page numbers. The text book industry in particular must have experienced a collective shudder. And second, a new service, Lendle, now makes it possible to loan your Kindle book to a friend for 14 days. This too is big.
I’m not saying the Kindle is the biggest or the best ebook service. I’m just saying that the rate of innovation in ebooks generally is rapid and irreversible. And cost and convenience will win in the end.
He says it’s not the end of the book, just a new chapter.