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London Bookstore Gives New Meaning to 'Book Burning'

by Warren Riddle on April 27, 2009 at 07:07 AM



Online shopping enables consumers to easily find and purchase desired goods, but it also forces actual store locations to adapt to technological advances and offer unique services in order to compete. Book stores have been seriously affected by the rise of Internet shopping, as multitudes of independent stores and huge chains have been forced to close, or to offer their goods solely online.

One chain in England now provides a unique and fascinating service that rivals the ease of Web shopping and will surely lure buyers into their stores. According to The Daily Mail, the book chain Blackwell is test-driving a new device -- On Demand Books' Espresso Book Machine -- at its Charing Cross location in London. In the time it takes to brew a cup of coffee, the fittingly named machine can print books from a database of 400,000 titles, including out-of-print, out-of-stock and other hard-to-find tomes. The book chain hopes to have access to over 1 million texts by the summer.

After a prospective buyer peruses a list of titles, all she has to do is select "make book," and the book burner begins churning out 105 pages a minute. The machine creates a cover, collates the pages, and then clamps, glues and attaches the cover. Unpublished authors can even provide their own CDs of material to be printed and bound.

While watching popular outlets like Borders shutter stores across the country might hurt some devoted readers, the Espresso has arrived in time to save others. Sure, shopping online is quick and effortless, but there's nothing like stalking between the stacks of a dusty, cramped local hideaway. By offering rare and popular, out-of-stock books instantly, local stores may be able to put some pressure on the Net stores like Amazon. Finally, some real competition. [From: Blackwell Via: The Daily Mail]

Tags: blackwell books, BlackwellBooks, book, bookstores, ebook, print, top, uk

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