The industry’s pace of change quickens as digital content technologies advance, print-on-demand becomes more prevalent, and declining readership and reaching today’s consumers continue to pose significant challenges.

By James Sturdivant

The industry’s growing reliance on online business is reflected in Barnes & Noble’s 2007 holiday sales figures, released Jan. 10. The world’s largest bookseller reported that its online sales jumped 10.9 percent over the same period in 2006, to $428.8 million. By comparison, in-store holiday sales were up 4.1 percent, to 1.2 billion.