Borders Going the Way of Cactus?

Article in the Houston Chronicle caught my eye (Here). Pixels or Pages, how could a title like that not catch the eye. The article dealt with a popular meme of these posts, the extinction of the contemporary bookstore.

Whenever I think about this topic I think of Cactus Records and Tapes on Shepherd in Houston. Cactus, as the full name implies, was the prototypical record store. Large racks for vinyls, experienced and helpful, perhaps a bit unwashed staff, the whole boat. When CD’s came out they were forced to retool. Remember when CD’s were packaged in long, narrow boxes so they could fit in record racks? First time I wondered about this, it was at Cactus. Cactus disappeared. Couldn't keep up with the changes. Lost its place in society.

A few years ago I met a local entrepreneur who was bringing Cactus back. I went and checked out the new Cactus. It was like stepping into an antique store for the 70’s. It was filled with ancient vinyl records, probably the same ones I'd seen there when I was a kid.

This is the future for bookstores I’m afraid. Mr. Simba, quoted in the article disagrees: "Saying that bookstores won't be around in the future because Wal-Mart and Amazon sell books is like saying Italian restaurants will go out of business because we have canned spaghetti sauce," said Michael Norris, a senior analyst at Simba Information, a researcher and adviser for publishers. Part of the value of a bookstore is the expertise of its staff, he said.”

Sorry, Mr. Simba, there’s a quality distinction here. I can get the same book, packaged differently by buying it from Amazon. I can’t get the same Italian Food when it’s packaged in a can.

A few posts ago I mentioned that bookstores need to change their offereing and the way they offer it. The Chronicle discussed that too:

“Barnes & Noble has taken initiatives to keep it up to date technologically, such as offering free Wi-Fi access, spokeswoman Mary Ellen Keating said. Customers of the Nook, the chain's e-book brand, can browse complete e-book contents in the store. Starting this fall the company will devote 1,000 square feet in its stores for its Nook boutique.”

And this particularly imaginative idea:

“To succeed, bookstores, including chains, need to provide customer service so good that people talk about it, Norris said. Some bookstores have effective e-newsletters personalized to the reading tastes of the individuals receiving them, he said. A number of independent bookstore owners are innovative, hosting, for example, vampire costume parties to tie in with all vampire books, he said.”

I say that this is imaginative because it revved my imagination motor. I thought about when I lived in Washington and went to the local bookstore to watch the mayhem accompanying the release of the third Harry Potter book. It was fun to see all the kids getting excited about the book and congregating at the bookstore. This may be the saving grace for bookstores. Think about reading clubs of kids all meeting at the bookstore. Movies based on popular books shown in the evenings. Writing and reading groups would no longer be forced to meet at each other’s homes and bare the strange glances from the homeowners spouses and children.

Bookstores need to start thinking in innovative ways or dry up and disappear like Cactus did.