1featherbear
Brian Bannon. NYT, 05/31/2026: shared link: Make America Read Again. "Mr. Bannon is the chief librarian of the New York Public Library, where he is also the director of branch libraries and education."
2Cecrow
We've seen the end of overdue fees at our libraries in Canada as well, probably stemming from the same trend.
Canada started federally taxing the sale of books in 1991. I can't find any research to prove that it damaged book sales or reading rates, though we were unhappy about it at the time of course. I doubt whether removing it would greatly improve sales now. The incredible rise in cover price is a bigger problem, I would not be surprised if it has outpaced inflation since 1991. Back then I could have any paperback for less than ten bucks. Now they've all gone to trade size, averaging around $25. Like really, how can I not get a new copy of a Agatha Christie mystery (I'm not particular which one, so long as I haven't read it) that's been in print for decades and I can read in a couple of days for less than that? I'll settle for whatever I can pick out of the second-hand shop for a third of that price, often less.
Edit: looks like my local bookstore's online page lets me buy them for half that much if I choose a different edition than what's on their shelf at the store. I'd like to keep the bricks-and-mortar shop going for the local jobs, but where's the incentive to do it?
Canada started federally taxing the sale of books in 1991. I can't find any research to prove that it damaged book sales or reading rates, though we were unhappy about it at the time of course. I doubt whether removing it would greatly improve sales now. The incredible rise in cover price is a bigger problem, I would not be surprised if it has outpaced inflation since 1991. Back then I could have any paperback for less than ten bucks. Now they've all gone to trade size, averaging around $25. Like really, how can I not get a new copy of a Agatha Christie mystery (I'm not particular which one, so long as I haven't read it) that's been in print for decades and I can read in a couple of days for less than that? I'll settle for whatever I can pick out of the second-hand shop for a third of that price, often less.
Edit: looks like my local bookstore's online page lets me buy them for half that much if I choose a different edition than what's on their shelf at the store. I'd like to keep the bricks-and-mortar shop going for the local jobs, but where's the incentive to do it?
