Google to the rescue?

I'm not going to lie. It's hard out here for a bookseller.

(Used to be that I would have specified "independent" booksellers but that's no longer the case. Borders is in trouble; Barnes & Noble might resuscitate themselves with the Nook, but they could easily lose the war to Google and Amazon.)

First, it was the corporation bookstores like the aforementioned. Then, online selling began to eat into everyone's profits. Finally, e-books seemed to threaten our very existence.

Today, I learned the amazing fact that Google is making deals with independent bookstores to sell e-books in brick-and-mortar stores.

This is a watershed moment. Though e-books are not my cup of tea, I recognize their incredible usefulness, especially to lighten students' textbook loads. They are here to stay. However, I've also been hearing from customers, friends, and family that they will mourn the day when actual bookstores close. Now, it seems, bookstores may survive digitization in a way that music stores, for the most part, have not.

Who knows why Google has decided to support bookstores? Perhaps it is a PR move or perhaps someone in the company leadership is one of those who do not want us to disappear.

I will be contacting them in the morning to see if it's feasible and practical for us to sign up for this program. I'll let you know what happens. E-books may come to Babbo's Books!


An article about it.