E-Readers to the Rescue

Barnes & Noble Store ecolibris.com

I have always loved to read, ever since I was a little kid I never go anywhere without a book. Other kids in school would always joke and call me a book worm or be amazed that I actually liked to read! I think it is part of the younger generation's culture to not like reading. We see it as homework, or something that adults make us do instead of letting us play.

This way of thinking has ultimately hurt the book industry. Children no longer view reading as fun or enjoyable, so their parents do not buy as many books. With this trend many small independent bookstores have closed or gone out of business. But one giant still remains in the book world: Barnes & Noble. 

Barnes & Noble grew so much it put many other bookstores out of business, but now with the invention of Amazon, Barnes & Noble has a new enemy. According to an article from the New York Times Amazon has taken a lot of business from traditional bookstores and moved consumers online. And with all of the new consumers on their website Amazon created the first Kindle in 2007, taking even more business from Barnes & Noble.

Amazon Logo and Kindle topnews.net.nz

Barnes & Noble had to find a way to keep up with Amazon. In 2009 the first NOOK was produced. Now that Barnes & Noble had a way to compete with Amazon they went full force into the digital age. It was stated that by the end of 2011 the NOOK had about 27% of the e-book industry. This may not seem like a lot compared to Amazon's 60% but it is a big step in the right direction for Barnes & Noble.

Because B & N is the last major bookstore company in the United States it is very important for it to stay open. Without B & N the publishers and everyone else involved in the industry would soon go out of business as well. The industry is in a very delicate spot right now and as long as B & N can keep up with Amazon on the E-reader level they can continue to remain a competitor.

Even with this new digital age ahead of them B & N CEO, William J. Lynch Jr, says that they will not get rid of their traditional stores and will continue to encourage readers to buy traditional books. All in all as the consumers we must decide what we want the future to be. Do we want a world with no traditional books and only E-readers? Or do we want a world where we can go to a bookstore and share that experience with future generations? I prefer the second and i hope others do to! 

This youtube video shows news coverage of the Barnes & Noble company.