More Erin reads the LA Times...

This week the Business section: the Times reports that

Major book publishers have quietly begun selling directly to customers over the Internet, a move that could transform the trade by putting them in competition with online retailers such as Amazon.com.

It's not clear to me exactly what this will mean, but it could create a new amount of cooperation, rather than competition, between publishers and retailers. Either way, the losers in the transaction will probably continue to be independent bookstores. I can't say that I'm a big help to their business model, as I tend to browse rather than buy, and am cheap and check books out from the library instead of plunking down my cash. But on those rare occasions when I'm willing to purchase, I go small and local (unless I have a gift certificate to Borders).