Book Distribution

Google and Barnes & Noble are joining forces to tackle their mutual rival Amazon, zeroing in on a service that Amazon has long dominated: the fast, cheap delivery of books.

Starting on Thursday, book buyers in Manhattan, West Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area will be able to get same-day deliveries from local Barnes & Noble stores through Google Shopping Express, Google's fledgling online shopping and delivery service.

While open access (OA) is by far the most well-known form of public access, it is not the only one. Having spent two days last week at Research4Life meetings in Washington, DC and with today's announcement that more than 80% of UK local authorities have now signed up for the Access to Research initiative, now seems like a good time to take a look at what else is on offer. R4L - and especially the HINARI program - is, of course, the Big Kahuna of public access programs. Access is free to

Are we seeing a mini-resurgence of physical bookshops, a move towards more carefully designed spaces, places that make you want to linger? First, it was the grand remaking of Foyles in London's Charing Cross Road, which led to much discussion on what a bookshop of the future should look like. Now, in Florence, the Italian publisher and bookseller Feltrinelli has opened its second RED store, part of a distinct move aimed at attracting those younger, digitally aware customers

A few years ago, when I was reading several annual SEC reports from the soon-to-be defunct Borders Group, I came across a sentence that not only defined the dysfunction of one retailer, but the dangerous mindset that has been crippling the book industry for decades.

Qlovi, an ebook distribution platform for K-12 learning, has one foot in trade publishing and one in the classroom, says Shira Schindel, vice president of content acquisitions. "We are in a great position to help those industries connect," says Schindel, "There are many challenges in the educational market that are not always on the forefront of a publisher's mind."

In a stunning upset, used ebook marketplace Tom Kabinet has survived its first round of legal battles today in the Netherlands. A judge for the District Court of Amsterdam has ruled today that Tom Kabinet can continue to operate while it is being sued in court. Launched just over a month ago, Tom Kabinet enables users to resell ebooks, both DRM-free and ebooks protected by digital watermarks (but not ebooks encumbered by Adobe DRM). The site was in operation for only 8 days

"The everything store" was never the extent of Amazon's ambition. Jeff Bezos has built a business that is, ultimately, about offering every kind of access to every kind of thing. You can buy shoes and coyote urine, subscribe to periodicals and deodorant, stream music and movies and TV shows. Oddly, books have been the holdout, as Amazon's fights with publishers have largely kept it from experimenting with new forms of packaging and distribution.

That's what's so exciting about Kindle Unlimited, the $9.99 / month subscription reading service Amazon appears to be ready to launch.

The recent takeover of Poland's second-largest bookstore chain Matras could define the direction in which the country's book market will move over the next several years. Two rival chains, Empik and Matras, are experimenting with new store formats and expanding into smaller cities to reach out to readers.

The takeover of Matras by businessman Jerzy Kowalewski marks the end of a long saga for the bookstore chain. Rumors of its potential acquisition by a new investor date back to at least 2012 

We have all read about the decline of the independent bookstores in the UK and US. However, we have also seen the relaunch of Foyles in Charing Cross, the expansion of the Hatchards brand by Waterstones to St Pancras, the growth online of the bargain bookseller, The Works. So what is the future of the Bookstore and does it have a vision of itself in 2020, or is its vision somewhat out of focus and requiring both short and long sighted correction?

Malcolm Gladwell, Dick Cavett, and Dave Hill discuss the Amazon-Hachette dispute on TOUGHTalk. Directed, shot, and edited by Tim Fornara.