One previously-predictable lowpoint of BEA is moment during the American Booksellers Association annual meeting when a board member announces the annual decline in registered member stores. But this year, for the first time since we’ve been following the numbers, the association actually gained members–nine to be exact–with 1,410 registered stores. (That gain does not necessarily reflect a change in the entire store landscape, since not all independent bookstores are members of the national organization.)
Here are the reported member-store numbers for the past decade:
2010: 1,410
2009: 1,401
2008: 1,524
2007: 1,580
2006: 1,660
2005: 1,703
2004: 1,804
2003: 1,908
2002: 2,097
2001: 2,191
2000: 2,794