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says that independent bookstores such as Kepler's can't compete with Borders, Amazon, and Costco etc. and so are likely to fail unless customers choose to subsidize their existence.
It's not just the Internet and big box stores contributing to the decline of independent bookstores. It's also the libraries that are offering new services that allow readers to reserve books and request purchases and even receive email notification when a desired book is available. Unless I want to own a book for reference or am desperate right before a plane trip, I hardly ever buy a book these days. Is this a bad thing? Well, maybe is is bad for booksellers, but in general, I think not. In fact, I like to think of this as my way of reducing my carbon load and helping to preserve a few more trees.
