Winter Institute wrapped up on Friday with the ABA Past Presidents in Conversation, featuring Becky Anderson, Betsy Burton, Mitchell Kaplan, Gayle Shanks, and Michael Tucker. Much of the session was given over to reminiscence of Winter Institutes past and anecdotes from their shops, but they also discussed changes in bookselling over the years and ongoing challenges. Notably, multiple panelists spoke to how the finances of the industry are, as Shanks put it, “severely broken.” She said, “When I have to take out a display of books and put in a case of tea towels or socks…I think things are not working.” […]
