Monday, August 5, 2013

Harvard Book Store: Model Of The Future?







Last week I talked about some articles I read about different options to maybe save the independent bookstores from going the way of the dodo.  If you didn't get a chance to read my post, you can find it here. I said I would be in favor of either special memberships or print on demand kiosks in bookstores to help fight against the huge industry competitor Amazon.

This week I came across an article in Forbes magazine by Phil Johnson written in 2012 about one such independent bookstore who decided to fight back for their little piece of the publishing pie and won. You can read about their success story here.

It got me thinking about the whole book publishing industry.  Printing books has been around for centuries...from the biblical Ten Commandments for those of us who follow that particular line of thinking to monks hidden away in a monastery as they tediously copy books by hand to today. 

The digital age doesn't have to bring an end to hard bound creations. Digital technology can sometimes even breathe new life into long forgotten books. At Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, new owner Jeff Mayersohn decided to compete in some small way with Amazon by installing one of the Expresso Book Machines smack dab in the middle of his store.  There he invites his customers to purchase their favorite digital stories and have them printed in less than four minutes. That could be seen as the best of both worlds, right?

This marketing ploy to make maybe an impulse purchase isn't very different at my local Barnes and Noble. The manager there has strategically placed comfortable chairs around the store to encourage their clientele to kick back and read a great book with the hope they will eventually decide to take it home.

But hey, how about taking it one step further? Why not do what some gaming stores do when they allow their customers to try out the new games before they buy them? Independent bookstores could set up readily accessible e-readers and computers via a "digital cafe" right there in the store for customers to check out the latest digital books. Then, they can simply select and print out any e-book in a handy hard bound edition to take home.  This would work especially well for children's picture books where kids could still curl up on mom or dad's lap and turn the pages to another grand adventure.  And those Expresso Book Machines have the capability of even printing out-of-print or hard-to-find books so just think of the thrill of holding a copy of a book you thought was lost forever.

While I'm still not a huge fan of my Kindle, this certainly give me a new appreciation of e-publishing and the future of the indie bookstore.

How about you? Would YOU check out the new e-books at your local digital cafe and then print off a copy or two?

11 comments:

  1. Hi Donna .. we know the books are there .. how will younger people know these sorts of books exist - it's an interesting time .. and I wonder what book life will be like in 20 years ...

    Good for the Harvard chap .. I think I saw that article ...

    Specialist printers are around but most of us can't afford those sorts of books ...

    Thanks for letting us know .. it's good to keep up .. cheers Hilary

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    1. Hi Hilary! With all the changes the world has seen just since MY childhood you would have thought I would have considered the way we see books would change as well. But I didn't. To me, books were the one constant I could depend on...now I don't know. Nice to know there are still some options available though to keep hard bound books alive.

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  2. I love bookstores, the small personal ones with the smell of old books, lots of chairs to sit and read, maybe a fireplace and a cup of coffee or hot cocoa. Oh, that's right that's my bookstore, the one in my head. Maybe some day!

    I just wonder what we'll all do when someone figures out how to turn off the digital! I'll keep my books, my paper, and my pencils! Just in case! :)

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    1. Let me know when you open YOUR bookstore. I'll bring the cocoa.

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    2. Hi Yolanda! Oh how I would LOVE to come visit you in your bookstore! Maybe some day...

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  3. Donna, I don't "E". So SOMEONE has to keep paper and ink books in print for ME!!

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    1. Hi Janet! be Ebooks would certainly be my last resort...and that would ONLY after McKays was no more!

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  4. AWESOME!!! Erik want Expresso Book Machine! ;) I applaud Jeff Mayersohn. And I would visit Ms. Renee's bookstore! My Mom and I want to open a bookstore. :)

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    1. Hi Eirik! I tell you what...the day I win the lottery, I'll buy one of those Expresso Book Machines and you can use it any time you want! Yolanda and you need to open your book stores so I can plan some fun vacations visiting them...;~)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  5. My mother was a librarian for 35 years. I spent most Saturdays reading in the children's section while Mom worked. I got my first kitten in a bookstore. (One of the other librarians cat had kittens and I was told if I could find her, I could have her. She was asleep on a high shelf in the back.) I just can't see any of that happening in a Best Buy.

    I'm not a technophobe, but keep books too. I work at a computer all day. At night I want a bound, organic, book!

    Go Indie bookstores, too!

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    1. Hi Quinn! Oh how I envy your childhood Saturdays...;~)

      I simply can't imagine a world without books. My local used bookstore, McKays, knows me well and I have two libraries (one by my home and one by my work) where I am on a first name basis with the staff! And don't get me started about yard sales where books are on display...lol...

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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