3 ms·

"But the number of bookstores goes down by one, and the volumes available are not available in the library. So the community has lost something too." Maybe som

• ChuckMcM 12y ago
  That isn't it, there is a cap on the number of volumes the libraries will keep. And of course the folks who frequent used book stores don't always have access to the Internet or a credit card and a fixed address to order from Amazon.
  • jogjayr 12y ago
    "That isn't it, there is a cap on the number of volumes the libraries will keep" I'm sure there is. Having said that, the Bay Area has at least a dozen public libraries, large and small. Add in public university and community college libraries, and that number could be as high as 20. It's not inconceivable that 20 libraries could absorb a single bookstore's inventory. The inter-library loan system works well enough that those books are effectively available to the entire Bay Area community. That's not counting all the books they'll sell to private individuals in their going-out-of-business sale, and of course the libraries will pass up buying things they already have. If you're going to buy something in the sale anyway, it might make sense to contribute that money to a common fund so libraries can buy those books and make them available to the community. Win-win.