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http://www.publishers.org/main/PressCenter/Archicves/2010_February/SalesUp4.1in2009Release.htm

From the American Association of Publishers.  Books sales were up 4% in 2009.  
While there have been some dips in the past few years, sales increased more than 
25% since the early 2000s.  While ebook sales are on the rise, they are still less 
than 3.5 % of total book sales.  Your observations are not totally wrong, but (and 
I say this with all due respect) ancedotes do not override statistics and according 
to statistics, there is no book buying crisis in America.    

Sara Ralph, librarian
Asheboro, NC




________________________________
From: Bob Hicks <bob.hicks@USD470.COM>
To: Sara Ralph <bibliophile26@YAHOO.COM>
Sent: Tue, March 2, 2010 6:10:28 PM
Subject: Re: SCHOOL LIBRARIES ARE IRRELEVANT?

I am not sure where your are getting your publishing/book figures.  My Bowker and 
other statistics and publishers show a steady decline--3.2% in 2008 & per capita 
decline--18% in 2005.  Even more dramatic is the decline in the percent of people 
buying and reading books relative to the increased population.  A 1,000,000 copies 
bestseller meant more in say 1960 when the population was much less than today. 

I'm afraid you are in denial.  

On Mar 2, 2010, at 3:52 PM, Sara Ralph wrote:

We have heard this over and over (that physical copies of books will be eliminated, 
but more books than ever are being published.  I know the Kindle and the B&N ebook 
reader is hugely popular, but I just don't see it happening.
>
>
>
>
________________________________
From: Bob Hicks <bob.hicks@USD470.COM>
>To: LM_NET@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
>Sent: Tue, March 2, 2010 11:01:01 AM
>Subject: SCHOOL LIBRARIES ARE IRRELEVANT?
>
>Believing this might stimulate interest and discussion, I first submitted this to 
>"School Library Journal" but to no surprise they could not find space for the 
>article.
>Bob-- Sorry you didn't receive a reply previously. Our editorial schedule is set 
>for 2010 and, unfortunately, we do not have an open position for your article. 
>Thanks you for submitting it.--Phyllis.
>
>Phyllis Levy Mandell
>Managing Editor
>Multimedia Review Editor
>School Library Journal
>Curriculum Connections
>360 Park Avenue South
>New York, NY 10010
>646-746-6763
>
>____________________________________________________________
>
>                              School Libraries Are Irrelevant?
>
>I have extrapolated on the following online article
>
>Do School Libraries Need Books?
>http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/10/do-school-libraries-need-books/
>
>
>Within a capitalistic system, economics defines and dictates everything: human 
>behavior, the culture, and societal institutions including libraries.
>
>Recently, I visited one of the bookstore chains.  For a Saturday, there were only 
>a few people in the store and most of them were in the ever expanding "non-book" 
>areas: CD, DVD, and computer software.  Can these places still even be called 
>bookstores?  I bought a $30 book.  Upon returning home, I checked Amazon and 
>discovered I could have download the same book for $10.  Because I am a "Last 
>Generation Bookman", hard copies have intrinsic and sentimental value thus paying 
>triple for a "real" book is not a problem.  However, if I was under say thirty or 
>an "internet/computer" generation person having no emotional or psychological 
>attachment to three dimensional books , I would be angry and feel cheated.
>
>Did you read or hear in the news that Laredo, Texas, a community of 250,000, was 
>losing their last and only bookstore?
>
>In the end, economics trumps everything.  Do you remember the "buy America" 
>movement years ago?  The idea was two fold: support American labor and 
>manufacturing by buying more expensive products made in America, and refuse to 
>support and reward employers of slave and sweatshop labor by purchasing their 
>products.  Unfortunately, people who would never dream of supporting child or 
>exploited labor were willing to do just that just o save a few bucks.  The 
>movement quickly failed!  Americans chose their pocketbooks over their patriotism 
>and principles.
>
>Just as the technology in form of the printing press initiated the "cheap" 
>book/printed page era, the technology of computers, the internet, eReaders, and 
>etc. will end it.  Does anyone want to bet that "hard copy" books will get 
>cheaper?  Excluding  the author and actual "text" costs, consider all the other 
>costs of getting a physical book into your hands:  materials, labor, printing, 
>binding, packing, shipping, and bookstore costs.  What percent of the retail 
>price? Half? Two thirds? In ten years, what do you think the postage on shipping a 
>box of books?  What if both the author and the publisher of an eBook, digital 
>book, or whatever you call them made the  same profit or even more with a download 
>instead of a hard copy?  Are capitalists known for their sentimentality?
>
>Have you noticed new books are going out of print faster? Publisher print runs are 
>smaller.  Have you tried to buy a year or two year old hardback lately?  Sorry, 
>out of print, but the eBook is available for $8.  In 2009, Carol Buchanan's God's 
>Thunderbolt: The Vigilantes Of Montana won the Western Writers Of America 
>prestigious "Spur" award for best first novel.  It is a self-published book.  Why 
>pay a publisher?  When will an eBook win the Pulitzer Prize or make it on the NYT 
>bestseller list?  Presently, is their a bestseller list dedicated to eBooks?
>
>Besides the cost difference between a hard copy and an eBook, consider other 
>existing and potential advantages of eBooks over the Gutenberg template?  
>Guaranteed availability--no gamble as to whether the store has it in stock.  No 
>worry of it going out of print.    How about text keyword and index searching?  
>What would the YA reader rather have?  A hard copy of Stephanie Meyer's latest 
>tome or a cheaper "Multimedia" eBook which besides text would includes a 
>read-along audio track, background music track, graphic illustrations or graphic 
>version, keyword text & index searchability, and a visual "Avatar" 
>characterization play/drama of the story.  Of course, a Spanish language version 
>is included.  Oh, by the way, if you don't want to buy the eBook, you can rent it 
>for for $1.99 (automatic text deletion after 30 days).  Of course, if you belong 
>to the eBook club and pay the $15 monthly fee, you have unlimited rental downloads 
>for free.
>
>Of course, shortly, hard copy school textbooks will be a thing of the past.  
>Again, cost will determine the preference.  Why would a college student or school 
>district pay $75-$200 for a textbook when it can downloaded to a computer, Kindle, 
>iPad or whatever for $20? Again, also keep in mind the advantages of the eBook 
>from keyword indexing and highlighting to the audio/visual features.  School 
>districts will simply pay the publisher a flat fee for X number or unlimited 
>downloads.
>
>Since students have classroom computer and/or handheld access to all the standard 
>"library" reference resources: encyclopedias, magazines and newspapers, both free 
>and subscription databases, and thousands of specific primary and secondary 
>downloadable eBooks, why do they need to go to the library or why does there need 
>to be a library to go to?  If a student is doing a research paper on the American 
>Revolution, he simply downloads the "David McCullough" Revolutionary War Library 
>of his ten recommended books on the subject.  How about info on Mccarthyism?  
>Access and/or download famous Professor Smith's McCarthyism Book & Magazine  
>Library (bundle).  Do you need information on the development of the gothic novel 
>and horror literature or simply like horror novels?  Access and download Neil 
>Gaiman's recommended eBooks.  All downloads are free to students because the 
>district pays an annual $ subscription free for unlimited access and downloading! 
 Why would a student waste precious classtime to physically go to the library?
>
>Remember spending hours and hours in the university library?  What is happening or 
>is going to happen to all those impressive college and university "brick & mortar" 
>libraries with their miles of stacks of books and back issue journals?  Will they 
>still buy all those academic and technical books and subscribe to all those 
>esoteric university press journals once they are digitized and downloadable?  How 
>are they going to continue to rationalize such expenditures?  How about the 
>storage and utility costs?  Are they or will they become simply huge 
>computer/internet cafes?  Why would a student need to spend time in one?
>
>How much reference assistance or advice in book selection do students really 
>need?  By they get to middle school and high school, I believe not much.  Have you 
>visited one of the increasing online "ask a librarian or "reader advisor" sites 
>(see examples below)--you type in your favorite book, genre or book you recently 
>read and liked and you will get a list of similar books.  Do your want to know 
>what book three is in the -----series?  Yes, in certain circumstances, one could 
>still make a case that a librarian's unique knowledge and experience has 
>educational value.  But, the librarian does not need a "library" facility to 
>practice reference assistance.  A classroom or just an office would suffice.
>
>Presently, what functions have your actual "library" space morphed into:  computer 
>lab, testing center, back to the old study hall, and/or club and social meeting 
>hall?  If I recall correctly, are not school architects reducing the library 
>square footage in new school buildings?
>
>I am what you could call a "transitional" librarian or the last generation of 
>"traditional" librarianship. Initially, I practiced librarianship basically the 
>same way the previous three or four generations of librarians had--hand 
>written/typed catalog cards, wooden drawers, the green Readers' Guide To 
>Periodical Literature, multi-volumed reference sources & etc.  Recently, I weeded 
>the library's remaining old record recordings and filmstrip kits I had left.  
>After notifying the faculty, a young, first year teacher stopped by to inspect the 
>kits just out of curiosity.  She had never seen one!
>
>As library traffic, circulation, and usage continue to decline, it is going to 
>become more difficult for MLS school librarians to rationalize and defend their 
>facilities, contributions to the curriculum, and educational value.  Any teacher 
>certified person or even a "para" can checkout a few books and supervise 
>computers.  Having been a high school librarian for over thirty years, I have had 
>hundreds of student library aides.  With my encouragement, some have chose 
>librarianship as their profession.  Currently, I am reluctant in recommending the 
>profession to students.  At times, I see the specter of the buggy whip maker.  A 
>few years ago a fellow high school librarian and friend announced his retirement.  
>Sounding frustrated, he said he no longer had much to do.
>
>Flashlight Worthy
>http://www.flashlightworthybooks.com/
>
>The Book Explorer
>http://www.thebookexplorer.com/
>
>What Should I Read
>http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/search
>
>Bob Hicks, librarian
>Arkansas City High School Librarian
>Arkansas City, KS 67005
>bob.hicks@usd470.com
>
>
>
>
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