I agree with Henry. I know that Amazon and the other chains offer a convenience, and, for some folks in isolated areas, this is their only access to books. But, a lot of independent book stores now have websites, and are knocking themselves out trying to be customer friendly.
Clearly, as librarians not spending our own money, but that of our institutions, we have to be fiscally responsible, and that is why a lot of us buy from Ingram and other vendors, which save us more than a few pennies. These vendors also offer cataloguing services, which are very helpful for a lot of us. But,I'm guessing that most of us work for places that would not want the local or regional Jewish book store to disappear. One compromise measure that a colleague of mine does, is to buy copy 1 of a popular title through a big vendor, and, if needed, copies 2 & 3 from the Jewish book store. Let's not let the Jewish book stores go the way of the many women's book stores that have been knocked out by the chains. The clerk or webmaster of Amazon cannot recommend a local klezmer band for a simcha, sponsor a book-signing of a book by a small, local press, or simply take the time to find just that right book for you or your child. Ann Abrams, Librarian Temple Israel 477 Longwood Ave. Boston, MA 02215 617-566-3960 www.tisrael.org ========================================================================== HaSafran - The Electronic Forum of the Association of Jewish Libraries Submissions for HaSafran, send to: Hasafran at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listserver at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 at osu.edu AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org/
