What I’m Reading: Ernest Gordon’s “To End All Wars”

What’s on my iPod: Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way”

The last person I followed on Twitter: @PenguinPbks

The publishing industry is abuzz with the news that Borders filed for bankruptcy and will be closing 200 stores. There have been rumors about the trouble at the company for months now, but the announcement has stirred a flurry of question about where the future of publishing should go. The Borders’ bankruptcy, which was announced on the morning of February 16th, was a result of the company’s inability to adapt to the changing marketplace. While Barnes and Noble released its NOOK and heavily pushed their online presence, Borders was left in the background and got lost in the online transition.

An article in Publisher’s Weekly by Calvin Reid, also released on February 16th, outlined some strategies to stay with the times that were discussed at the O’Riley’s Tools of Change conference. Here are some of the highlights:

• The first was that publishers must move from a “container-first” mindset (i.e. physical books) to a “context-first” model, which will allow for the digital marketplace.
• Content that is tagged and coded for easy and immediate discovery online is key.
• Build a community and personal brand with tools like social media.

It is sad to see such a traditional bookstore like Borders shutting the doors of so many stores. The publishing marketplace is definitely in transition but that doesn’t mean a blend of traditional with digital won’t still exist. I love walking into a bookstore – the smell, the atmosphere, the rows and rows of books. I could spend hours just rifling through the shelves. As long as there are people who agree with me, this transition to digital doesn’t mean the end of bookstores. It just means we will now have a wider spectrum of formats and experiences to choose from.

What do you think about the Borders’ bankruptcy? Do you think someday we will live in a world without bookstores?