Pity Poor Pascal

Despite impressive sales gains in recent decades and substantial growth in the number of book buyers, the tradebook, mass market and, to some extent, professional book publishers are handicapped by serious weaknesses in the retail distribution system upon which the bulk of their marketing depends. The industry has largely itself to blame for these difficulties. Publishers are producing many more titles than the market can absorb. Retailers, though proliferating in number, often offer only very limited title selections to their clientele, thereby alienating the special interest customers that constitute the large majority of serious book buyers. The industry has failed, furthermore, to develop an effective fulfillment system by which specialized titles could be efficiently delivered on special order. The problem calls for industrywide cooperative action which has thus far failed to materialize. There are indications, however, that a new generation of publishing and retail managers is more receptive to new approaches, thus offering hope for an eventual solution.