Print is Dead: Books in Our Digital Age

There’s an episode of the ‘80s sitcom classic Cheers where Sam, after selling the bar and having spent months trying desperately to get it back, opts instead to open a new bar. Sam decides on reopening a bar down on the waterfront that previously went out of business. After relating his idea to billionaire businessman Robin Colcord, Colcord asks what the difference will be between Sam’s new bar and the old bar, i.e. Why will his business be a success when the other one was a failure? Sam’s only reply is that, this time, it’ll be called “Sam’s Place.”

I thought of this when, earlier in the week, I read in The Los Angeles Times that the Brentwood location of the recently closed Duttons bookstore will be replaced with — wait for it — a bookstore. So what’s the difference between the stores? This time it’s called Diesel. However, the changes will be deeper than that. For instance, Duttons was “more regional,” while Diesel will be “neighborhood-oriented.” (Uh, if anyone can let me know the difference between these two, I’d appreciate it; for instance, is it that Steinbeck — being from California — is a regional writer, but a flier for guitar lessons posted to the bulletin board is more neighborhood oriented?).

Also, as the story states, “Diesel will have floor-to-ceiling shelves with a wide selection of books and a staff interested in ‘passionate engagement’ with customers.” And yet, from the photo above, taken from an earlier LA Times story about Duttons, it looks like the store already has pretty high shelves (not to mention that the Duttons staff was always smart and passionate). Frankly, I think the problem is larger than shelves and passion; the fact is that people spend less time at bookstores, and more time online. At any rate, I wish Diesel the best.