How do you feel reading has been affected by the rise of ebooks and online retailers?

In the midst of a drastically-changing environment, The Book Barn in Niantic, Connecticut is thriving selling used books. This may come as a surprise to many people who perceive that modern technology is changing book culture for the worse. Mieum Media talked with owner Randi White to hear what he had to say about books, reading, and running an independent bookstore in the information age.

---

Extended Interview with Randi White:

---

Citations:

#1: Hirsch, Paddy. “Why The Number Of Independent Bookstores Increased During The ‘Retail Apocalypse’.” NPR, 29 Mar. 2018, http://www.npr.org/2018/03/29/598053563/why-the-number-of-independent-bookstores-increased-during-the-retail-apocalypse. Accessed 25 Mar. 2019.

#2: Perrin, Andrew. “Print Books Still Much More Popular Than E-books, Audiobooks.” Pew Research Center, 8 Mar. 2018, http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/08/nearly-one-in-five-americans-now-listen-to-audiobooks/. Accessed 25 Mar. 2019.

#3: Albanese, Andrew. “Overall Book Readership Holding Steady, but E-Books Have Stalled.” Publishers Weekly, 1 Sept. 2016, http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/71379-pew-report-book-readership-holding-steady-but-e-books-have-stalled.html. Accessed 25 Mar. 2019.

#4: Adam Ruins Everything. “Why the Internet is Good for Society.” YouTube, 30 Nov. 2016, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNIHBEBsoKg. Accessed 25 Mar. 2019.

#5: Ha, Thu-Huong. “Are Ebooks Dying or Thriving? The Answer is Yes.” Quartz, 13 May 2018, qz.com/1240924/are-ebooks-dying-or-thriving-the-answer-is-yes/. Accessed 25 Mar. 2019.

#6: Schorpp, Doug. “All Waldenbooks Stores Closing.” The Quad-City Times, 18 July 2011, qctimes.com/business/all-waldenbooks-borders-stores-closing/article_625a19e8-b18f-11e0-9c18-001cc4c002e0.html. Accessed 25 Mar. 2019.

#7: Bosman, Julie, and Michael J. De la Merced. “Borders Files for Bankruptcy.” The New York Times, DealBook, 16 Feb. 2011, dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/02/16/borders-files-for-bankruptcy/. Accessed 25 Mar. 2019.

#8: “Waldenbooks Explained.” Everything Explained Today, everything.explained.today/Waldenbooks/. Accessed 25 Mar. 2019.

#9: Wahba, Phil. “Why Barnes & Noble Wants Smaller Stores.” Fortune, 30 Nov. 2017, fortune.com/2017/11/30/barnes-noble-sales/. Accessed 25 Mar. 2019.

#10: “Number of Bookstores in the U.S. 2017.” Statista, http://www.statista.com/statistics/249027/number-of-bookstores-in-the-us/. Accessed 25 Mar. 2019.

#11: “File:Borders Group.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, 4 Sept. 2011, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Borders_group.png. Accessed 25 Mar. 2019.

#12: “File:Barnes & Noble Logo.svg.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, 30 Jan. 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Barnes_%26_Noble_logo.svg. Accessed 25 Mar. 2019.

#13: “File:Waldenbooks.” Wikimedia Commons, Wikipedia, 30 Aug. 2005, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Waldenbooks.png. Accessed 25 Mar. 2019.

#14: Song in video: Lobo Loco. “Overchill.”

#15: Outro Song: “Fill Me In” by Atwaters featuring Yeon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW0iKqFMoxo Used with artist’s consent. The contents and views of this video may not necessarily be shared with the artist.