The future of rare bookselling in not in question

Reading the blogs and newsletters of the book trade can be a bit depressing at times.  Not a week goes by without someone bemoaning the death of the industry and the absolute futility of it all.  It is no secret that a very large number of booksellers, especially of the rare and collectible ilk, are on the older end of the baby boom; and that many (but not all) seem to think that somewhere along the line everything went terribly wrong in raising the next generation. 

To this I have two comments.  First, doesn't that sounds oh so similar to what the parents of the boomers themselves may have said around the time of the Summer of Love? Second, I think the rare and collectible book trade will be just fine.  For full disclosure I'm 30 years old and am the son of a baby boomer myself, so feel free to take my opinion with as many grains of salt as you see fit.   

Rare books are expensive, even scarce books take a certain amount of patience to find and acquire.  Rome was not built in a day, and neither was a quality book collection.  Young adults and youth today care just as much about the written word and this website could even be the lynchpin of the argument.  BookFinder.com was created in 1997 by a young 19-year-old college student named Anirvan because he was trying to complete his Doonesbury collection.  Just because he didn't pick up a copy of the AB Bookman didn't make him any less of a collector.

This is why I am so happy to see latest series from The Fine Books Blog has where they are interviewing young folks in the book industry.  Here you can read an interview with 22-year-old Ashley Loga who has embarked on a career in the rare book trade after attending the Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar.  Her view on the future of the rare book trade pretty much matches mine.

Being only 22, I am perhaps one of the youngest ones currently in the trade.  Personally, I am tired of this defeatist attitude.  I frequently come across people bemoaning the death of the business on the list-serves.  This frustrates me greatly.   Having a defeatist attitude only hinders the business and does not help it grow at all.  Everyone says that people my age do not collect but this is untrue.  I know quite a few people under the age of 30 who collect books and take pride in their collections.  I think this view partially comes from a disconnect with the older age group and the younger age group.  And partially from the fact that people my age do not have the funds to buy books on the higher end of prices.  Book fair advertisements need to not only target the older crowd through newspaper advertisements but also find new ways to target people in their 20s and 30s.  The customers' desires are merely shifting: the business is not dying.

You can read the whole article here. What"s your feeling?

Comments

[Brooke]

Thanks thanks thanks for writing this! I couldn't agree more, as a 20-something in the book trade.

I find the question of cultivating another generation of people who care way more important than its infrequent discussion would suggest.

One problem I notice is that only once you're *in* the book trade do you feel a sense of the community; there is not enough outward reach for, for example, university programs that try to incorporate bibliography and book history into their requirements. And that means it's not something many think of as a career option.

It's surprising to me that neither sides (trade and academic) seem to have spoken to one another about this, especially because on the one hand the trade is shrinking, and on the other there's a crisis of job shortages in the humanities. Finally, this lack of communication reinforces stereotypes on both sides. And it's true, even if you've worked with them in a library or classroom, there is quite a learning curve to dealing with books in the trade, but that can be said for any new job and the learning curve isn't difficult so much as fun! I look at programs like the MA in History of the Book at University College London, &c. and wonder, why isn't there a more formal liaison between us and them?

I don't want to speak too generally, since I have been treated well at my job. But, there's only a handful of others who can say likewise.

[Thebookfool]

Great article & entirely feel the same way.

I too am 30 and found my way into the book world through the love of books & then through used & rare realm.

Much like how paintings have thrived since the camera and LP records since the Tape/CD/MP3, solid state books will always be objects that are desired.

[Bengali Books]

Awesome article & I feel as your thinking. Super I love this type of writing.

[Bangali Books]

Your I am a big fan of journal. I have been reading your every articles

[John]

I agree, I'm 28 and I've been selling used and rare books for the last 7-8 years.

[David]

Wow, my son who is 14 can identify first editions in several categories of the children's genre and certainly in the others, including adult fiction. He is thrilled at finding a 1950s Little Golden Books with an "A" in the gutter of the last page, but like everyone else on the planet, when he spends 48 cents and makes $17.50 on one of dad's sales, his crank gets ratcheted. Some of the best rare book sellers I know are young people in their 20s and 30s. The keep the crumudgeons honest and competitive. Surprisingly, my son finds it pretty easy to talk with his peers about bookselling and the printing arts. I think he's special, but not unique at all.

[Harold Queen]

As an online bookseller, (I am 42), I fully expect to be selling books when I am 70 (If God grants me that many years!). Technology is great but somehow a shelf full of iPads, Nooks, Kindles, just doesn't give the same feeling as a shelf of books. Books are simple decorations that spruce up any room, not to mention the enjoyment one derives from reading them.

[Übersetzerin und Dolmetscherin]

I think will be eBooks in future. My friends are prefer to use eBooks. you don't need to buy shelves, all will be in eBook.