Books and bookshops
Sir: I did not comment on Benny Green's piece about bookshops (June 12) at the time because it observed inescapable facts rather than made unjustified criticism. As your correspondent Penelope Vousden has raised the matter, however, it might be useful to stress that ' merchandising ' books as opposed to providing means merely to ' make them available ' goes on quite regularly in many businesses, and the book trade has as much understanding as any other retail trade of the importance of matching the product to the potential customer. If the use of marketing techniques is ' sheer heresy ' in bookselling, as your correspondent claims, then it is clearly a heretical trade, for many booksellers build up a high turnover on mail order, point of sale display, exhibitions, agencies and visiting schools and colleges. Few retailers have to work quite so hard on 'merchandising ' as booksellers, but this does not alter the fact that the most valuable service to the public may still be found in the stockholding bookshop itself where potential buyers may examine books without undue sales pressure.
Unfortunately the present bookbuying market is simply not large enough to sustain enough stockholding bookshops to satisfy booklovers and occasional buyers with adequate facilities in all the places where they live.
Even London cannot produce as many good bookshops as a multimillion population deserves. There would be a better chance if metropolitan booksellers were not denied almost the whole of government and G.L.C. book business for offices and schools, which goes direct from publishers.
G. R. Davies Director, The Booksellers Association, London SW1.
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