Young Booksellers

One of the themes of my new Montaigne book is how we middle-agers and older might avoid becoming brittle and bitter and rather pitch in with the younger folks looking forward. So this quote from Shelf Awareness gave me hope:

“Since I last wrote to you, I’ve had the good fortune of attending two
fall regional trade shows–my own region (PNBA) last week and the SIBA
show last month…. At both shows I was extremely impressed with the
number of younger booksellers (well, at least younger than me) who were
passionately engaged in the topics of the conference and in finding
collaborative ways to make their businesses better…. What I saw in all
these interactions were people who grew up in a completely different
bookselling and retail landscape than I did, and, yet, who are just as
enthused and motivated as any booksellers I’ve known about what our
stores can represent and achieve in each of our communities.”

–Robert Sindelar, ABA board president and owner of Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park and Seattle, Wash., in a letter to members

 

Not sure how the numbers shake out long-term, but I’m seeing it out there. And not just in the arts world.


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