A Bookstore Autopsy

In a time when there is bad news and then more bad news for booksellers (today, Barnes & Noble announced downsizing at its corporate headquarters in New York, eliminating 100 jobs, 4% of its workforce there), it is hard to feel hopeful about the publishing industry, or certain about the future of your favorite independent bookstore. This post might not leave you with a warm, fuzzy feeling (except in its exhortation that you keep shopping locally!), but an article from BusinessWeek might help by providing some analysis. "Autopsy of an Indie Bookseller" explores what happened to Cody's Books, the Berkely-based institution that shut down this past June after 52 years of as a hub for literary and political culture.

See also this slideshow, which shows the rise and fall of Cody's through pictures.