ffect of the Rental Library on Book Sales Twenty-nine out of thirty-five propriors expressed the opinion that library. :tivity increased book sales. Several mangers reported that many library patrons urchase at Christmas and other giftasons books which they have read from e rental library. Another way in which ental libraries stimulate sales is evidenced y the survey: The library has a peculiarly fective value as a source of "word-ofouth" advertising. Non-Fiction and Children's Books It is indicative of the extension of the se of non-fiction that two-thirds of the braries answering this questionnaire (and hey are widely scattered over the counry) are now adding non-fiction to their ental plan. This is a higher percentage han previously. The number of the books volved is small as compared to fiction. The rental of children's books has not o far been well tested out, as only four of the stores. replying have collections of hildren's books. It seems likely that liraries in residential districts might develop This more successfully than others. Disposing of Worn Volumes Libraries vary greatly in their methods of disposing of the worn books. Some sell hem in the store and some dispose of them o small public libraries; some run coninuous sales at fixed prices, while others have special sales when the discarded volmes are all gathered up and offered at once. Probably the best method is the last, and when the price is low an accumulation of three and six months can be disposed of in a few days. This is especially true of department stores when people passing by are glad to pick up good reading at low prices. Such material put out before vacation times gets especial attention. Some stores have developed a plan whereby books are marked on a sliding scale of value, and the reader can purchase the book at this price at the time the volume is being re' turned. The usual amount obtained for the worn non-fiction volume is fifty cents; twentyfive cents for worn fiction volumes. Twenty-four libraries, in fact, have these fixed prices. Three-for-a-dollar is the price charged in three stores. Promoting the Library The library promotion so far has been of a rather desultory character. It takes three or four common and customary forms: The use of wrappers, or jackets, distribution of catalogs, circularizing of nearby buildings or residents, displaying of posters, and newspaper insertions. Jackets Eighty per cent of the libraries answering this questionnaire used jackets or wrappers of some kind. In most cases they were wrappers especially prepared for each business, carrying the name of the library. and oftentimes some other advertising. Two libraries were using wrappers furnished by a fountain pen manufacturer. One library reported it did not use jackets, because men disliked them. Only four used no jackets at all. The fact that books are carried in street cars and thru streets adds value to the advertising accruing to a striking jacket. This fact has been recognized by most proprietors. In connection with this questionnaire which furnishes a study of rental technique, the Publishers' Weekly has gathered thru the courtesy of the libraries many forms, blanks, and technical details used in running the business, which will be later organized in an article of special interest to those who are developing this type of business. In the April 28th issue there appeared an article by Daisy C. Sage describing her chain of circulating libraries out west. An article by William E. Harris on an eastern chain will appear in the next issue. These articles, with the study of library technique here printed, are part of a series on the rental library which the Publishers' Weekly will continue thruout the summer. The Growth of the A. B. A. HE booktrades of Europe have developed their methods of distribution and systems of efficient handling of books far beyond that which has been worked out either in England or America. Recently the English booktrade sent a special delegation to Europe to study these methods and their application to the English booktrade. The United States has benefited from the fact that several of its members will derive from the clearing house plan as it is outlined by the Executive Com mittee, and that it instruct the new administration to place it in operation when this may be done on a sound financial basis and when sufficient support has been pledged by the membership." This resolution had been preceded by a careful discussion of the subject. The Executive Secretary of the Association, Ellis Meyers, had printed in the Publishers Weekly two weeks before an analysis of the program and the possible saving. With this resolution in hand, the new Executive Committee, headed by the newly elected president, John G. Kidd, entered into further study of the problem of ob taining backing for such a project, and finally, with some three dozen booksellers signed up, began in July, 1926, a clearing house project located at a place of inex pensive rental at 255 Tenth Avenue. One part of the program, that of having the members have a thoro knowledge of the European systems, and Ernest Eisele, head of B. Westerman Company of Forty-Sixth Street, New York, has been a steady advocate of applying some of the clearing house methods to American needs. To his unselfish devotion, more than to any other one element, the booktrade is indebted for the successful Clearing House experiment that has developed in the last two years. In the A. B. A. convention of 1926 the following resolution was passed: "Resolved that we recognize the great value that our In April of this year the Clearing House established itself in the above office on the corner of Ninth Street and University Place, an almost ideal room for the Clearing House clearing house distribute incoming book orders, was dropped after a few months' experiment, as the subscribers at that time were not numerous enough to make this distribution economically practical. This idea is one that is used in foreign countries and may be later redeveloped here. Constant propaganda slowly but steadily increased the number of firms who saw advantages in such a central system, and enough support was obtained to enable the executives to lease in May, 1927, a basement and first floor of an old house at 25 East Tenth Street, very centrally located for such purposes. The plan came up for further discussion in the convention of 1927, and in the fall of that year it had sufficient backing to give it a real test. Mr. Meyers was particularly successful as an organizer of details and gathered around him a very loyal group of workers, now ten in all, whose interest in the program helped to bring it thru many difficult tests, and the total number of errors in shipment for so new a business was extremely small. Again the number of supporters increased, and this finally made it possible, in April, 1928, to move to the corner of Ninth Street and University Place, one block from Fifth Avenue and two blocks from Washington Square, with Baker & Taylor, Macmillan and other well-known book houses nearby. This is an almost ideal room for the purpose, a long first floor store, high studded and with light on two sides, a front entrance to the offices and rear entrance to the shipping department, and it is on a street so located as to be uncrowded yet with easy and quick access to the principal freight outlets. The number of stores using the system passed the hundred mark some time ago, but the new quarters will give room for considerable expansion. The charges have been kept at a point that will cover the expenses of the business but not make a profit, and out of the experience which the Association is gaining there seems to be possibility of increased usefulness for this institution. While this Clearing House has been developing its facilities Mr. Meyers has been adding to it another function, that of Publishers' Warehouse. This business is handled at rates adjusted to the amount of business done, a flat fee for storing books and another for each package shipped. Several publishers have taken advantage of this service including John Day, William Morrow, Macy-Masius, B. Westermann, Lewis Copeland, National Bureau for Economic Research, Vanguard Press, and Willett, Clark & Colby. The cost data gained from this experiment may lead to at larger program. Some day, no doubt, a large number of publishers will have their warehouse stock in a common building of low rent, will take advantage of an enclosure system on a bottom floor, will tr the economies of joint purchases of packing supplies, and will obtain for their handling problems the benefit of an exchange of various experience. Chart Showing Two Years of Business at the The lower line in the graph above shows the amount of books shipped Enter the New Bookshops! Albert R. Crone N the American Booktrade Directory of 1925 there were listed 5800 booksellers covering every type of book distributing enterprise. A new edition of this directory for 1928 will record probably 8000 names. This great increase is not due to growth of new enterprises so much as to a more careful combing of the areas of book distribution. Still there has been a marked growth of new retail outlets. The reports of new bookshops recorded in the Publishers' Weekly during 1925, 1926 and 1927 aggregate 493 new stores of all kinds and this record probably fails to list scores of small shops and branch shops that have sprung up everywhere. For the purposes of visualizing to some extent what the growth of new bookshops has meant, here is, the record by states of the 493 new shops just referred to:New Bookshops Reported to the Publishers' Weekly in the last three years. around 6%-7%; and Florida, New Jersey and Texas around 4%. These states account for 66% of the total. These are, for the most part, the best bookselling areas and the percentage of growth of new outlets probably parallels fairly closely the percentage of gross sales in these areas. It is a difficult matter to secure adequate data on these shops as to whether they have developed as outlets or have passed out of the picture, but a study of such available data as is at hand indicates that about 20% of these new outlets (1 in 5) are in poor condition, which leaves our survey with a rather healthy showing on new shop development. Among these have been some splendid new enterprises whose success in bookselling has been marked. There are many new enterprises whose credit standing is sound. These new shops have brought a new impetus to bookselling in their localities that has benefited the community as well as stimulated established shops. If we again examine the reports of these past years we find that there have been comparatively few failures in the old stores, no outstanding retail failures. Instead of this we find a general report of increased business at increased profit rather well distributed thruout the United States. Relatively few new book departments have been established in Department Stores, but there has been a strengthening of already established departments and a widening of their fields of interest. The Publishers' Weekly's annual listing of the total number of department store book departments for the last two years show: 1926, 563 shops; 1927, 578 shops. In the total figures, the number of branch outlets by established book concerns has been comparatively small, but there have been many attractive branch shops set up in new city districts and in nearby communities. It is a growing practice among established retailers to set up their own neighborhood shops rather than see competitive "personal" shops grow up. |