Downsizing the Science Fiction Section in Bookstores

[Snaploud]

I've been noticing a recent trend toward only having the latest science fiction book in a series (rather than any of the older books), but my local B&N bookstore went a step forward.

The store has about half the science fiction stock of a few months ago. They just turned the books face-forward and increased the "new science fiction" headings to take up 4/5ths of the science fiction section.

How is the science fiction section doing at your local bookstore? Are they also downsizing?

 

[sidious618]

I can't say that I've noticed it in my bookstores. Could just be that the economic times are forcing them to downsize a little.

 

[Star Wolf]

Bookstores are downsizing. Making room for coffee hasn't helped. DVDs seem to be taking space once reserved for books and CDs.

 

[miraclefan]

Bookstores are downsizing. Making room for coffee hasn't helped. DVDs seem to be taking space once reserved for books and CDs.

That's very true! Waldenbooks at both the malls over here closed shop, and the two HASTINGS ''entertainment stores''(used to be bookstores) are now slowley phaseing out all of there books! in favor of Video games, sound-systems, music(if you can call it that) toys, and of course coffie shops! God help us!

 

[darkwing_duck1]

The Fantasy section in our local B&N is shrinking the same way. So is the "media tie in" section (making of books for films, etc).

I haven't been in our local Waldenbooks in over a decade (assuming it still is even open).

We lost our Hastings entirely. (Too bad..GREAT DVD section, the best we had in town.)

 

[Lieut. Arex]

Your local B&N probably doesn't sell much SF/F. Where I work, it's one of the top five-selling categories and the section has been expanded. Granted, it's thinned some due to the draw down of on-hand stock because of the economy, but so has the rest of the stock. Another location just seven miles away with a much higher overall volume has never been as strong in SF/F sales as we are and has a smaller section. Stores stock what sells.

 

[melancholymecha]

I have noticed the comics/graphic novels & manga sections getting larger though...especially manga.

 

[miraclefan]

^Ya, I,ve noticed that too! you shuld see the manga ''sections'' at our ''BAM'' (Books A Million) It's unbeliveable!

 

[darkwing_duck1]

I have noticed the comics/graphic novels & manga sections getting larger though...especially manga.

Yeah...that and (beleive it or not) Role Playing Games have taken up the shrinkage space in the SF/Fantasy sections.

 

[LaxScrutiny]

I noticed the same thing in Chapters (Canada) lately. But not just Science Fiction, it seems to be true in all categories.

Chain bookstores used to also have some classics selection, even if it was just one shelf of assorted Penguin, but it's all disappeared, I was looking for a copy of 'Three Musketeers' for my daughter and after I realized how little there was, I looked at all the shelves more carefully, I couldn't find a thing that was less than a couple decades old.

I think mainstream bookstores are just plain old cutting back the stock in all sections.

 

[darkwing_duck1]

I noticed the same thing in Chapters (Canada) lately. But not just Science Fiction, it seems to be true in all categories.

Chain bookstores used to also have some classics selection, even if it was just one shelf of assorted Penguin, but it's all disappeared, I was looking for a copy of 'Three Musketeers' for my daughter and after I realized how little there was, I looked at all the shelves more carefully, I couldn't find a thing that was less than a couple decades old.

I think mainstream bookstores are just plain old cutting back the stock in all sections.

I get the impression that bookstores are going the way of music stores: carry the current "top 40" and offer to order everything else.

 

[Mike Farley]

I have noticed the comics/graphic novels & manga sections getting larger though...especially manga.

Yeah, the manga section seems to be slowly eating the reat of the bookstore.

I noticed the same thing in Chapters (Canada) lately. But not just Science Fiction, it seems to be true in all categories.

Chain bookstores used to also have some classics selection, even if it was just one shelf of assorted Penguin, but it's all disappeared, I was looking for a copy of 'Three Musketeers' for my daughter and after I realized how little there was, I looked at all the shelves more carefully, I couldn't find a thing that was less than a couple decades old.

My local B&N has a big freestanding island shalf filled with various classics. It roves all over the store but it's alwayts around somewhere. It's currently parked next to the Sci-Fi section.

 

[Starbreaker]

Still tons of sci-fi books in the sections around here. I'm hard pressed to find something they don't have.

 

[Aragorn]

People are idiots who buy movies from bookstores. Why pay $20 for a DVD at Best Buy when you can pay $30 at Barnes and Noble!

 

[cardinal biggles]

I've worked for B&N for 6½ years, so I'll try and hit the major points being raised here:

• Sci-Fi/Fantasy is being downsized. Yes, but so are most other sections of the store. Part of it is the economy. Part of it is recognizing the fiscal untenability of having a hundred thousand unique titles under one roof when the statistical odds that someone will walk in today to actually buy The Backyard Berry Book (real title — check it out!) are somewhat worse than your chances of winning the Powerball. All the quirky titles will still be orderable, they just might not be there to browse through.
• Graphic Novels/Manga is taking over. Only because it's one of the most rapidly growing categories on the bookfloor.
• There's no classics anywhere. Yes there are, but they aren't grouped in a single place. The moveable fixture Mike Farley described is just for the Barnes & Noble Classics series, published in-house. Other series like Penguin, Signet, and Modern Library are folded into the appropriate section (fiction, drama, philosophy, etc.).
• My local Waldenbooks closed. That's because their parent company, Borders, is slowly swirling down the toilet. The big item of discussion at their upcoming shareholders meeting is a reverse stock split so they can try to build the share price back up above $1.00 (closed at 63¢ on Friday), or else get de-listed from the NYSE.
• DVDs are displacing music. Thank iTunes for that. Again, like with the expansion of graphic novels at the expense of other subjects, if something sells, you get more of that something in. DVDs and Blu-ray sell; music, not as much as it used to.

 

[Maestro]

Our local Borders seems to be OK. They've moved the SFF section from the back-middle of the store to the back-back of the store, but it looks like they've allocated more shelf space and are carrying more books. I am seeing fewer "back issues" in a series being kept in stock, but the section is bigger, and there's always at least one if not five other customers browsing when I'm in looking at books.

But, if you can't get it there but you can on Amazon, well, it's not really your problem.

 

[cardinal biggles]

People are idiots who buy movies from bookstores. Why pay $20 for a DVD at Best Buy when you can pay $30 at Barnes and Noble!

Why go to Barnes & Noble and either find an unusual title on the shelf, or have someone special order it for you when you can go to Best Buy and have the salesperson stare at you like a brain-dead cow?

 

[nx1701g]

My local Borders has completely phased out much of their Science Fiction section to only two bookcases (it used to take up about eight). Also, on those shelves they have all of their sci-fi/fantasy - from classics to modern. You must special order any Trek titles as they refuse to carry them now.

 

[cardinal biggles]

^Is your Borders a Borders superstore, or a Borders Express?

 

[nx1701g]

^ Superstore. The Express has gotten rid of them and made almost all sci-fi special order (the Express has them with the graphic novels).