5. The booksellers are of necessity the agent of the publisher. If his business is not self-sustaining, he must fail. The reduction of real booksellers, by a most liberal construction of what constitutes a bookseller, from about 3,000 when our population was 40 millions to about 2,000 with our population at 90 millions, is evidence of the truth of this assertion. The booksellers are entitled to sell to everyone who buys books, libraries or others.
6. The libraries are not booksellers, therefore they are not entitled to booksellers' discounts, which they are now getting from certain sources. Thus, booksellers are deprived of the library business.
7. The bookseller is an important factor in any community in which he is placed. He is taxed by city and state. His educational influence cannot be estimated. His capital, his brains and physical effort are all invested in making his business a success. To do so, he needs reasonable profits, and it is business folly to do any part of his business that results in a loss.
8. A great majority of the libraries are created and supported by direct taxation, by charitable contribution, endowment, legacies and the like. It is true, the libraries have to be conducted in a careful, businesslike way simply keeping within their means. Doing this, they are free from the booksellers' anxieties and difficulties as a merchant.
9. The unique position enjoyed by libraries in the community as to their capital and freedom from commercial risk, and exemption from taxation and rent, has raised the question: "Why should they receive discounts on books?" Do they, as libraries, get special discounts on their building, their shelving, light, heat, electricity and supplies, etc., etc.?
10. The libraries state that in booksellers dealing with libraries many of the largest items of the expense involved in the conduct of the retail business are wholly unnecessary.
"It can be conducted as well by dealers on back streets or in lofts as it can be done by those who have the most luxurious stores to attract the retail trade; it does not call for the advertising of their wares by the dealer; all skill of salesmanship is eliminated and no accounts have to be charged off because of failure."
11. The bookseller establishes himself in every community, in such locations as will attract trade—generally the best—limited only by his capacity to pay rent and expenses. This is vital to his success. A bookseller locating himself on a back street for the purpose of doing business to enable him to give the library a large portion of his small earnings would speedily end his career. He could not get enough library business to exist on and his chances of doing a general retail business, on a back street, would be very small indeed. He would become solely a 25 per cent or 30 per cent buyer, 10 per cent which he gives to the libraries, with a possible 28, 25 or 20 per cent expense account. We do not believe that the libraries would knowingly ask anyone to do business under such circumstances for their benefit. Will the libraries figure this out?
12. Presuming, for the sake of argument, a bookseller does locate himself on a back street for the purpose of doing library business: He must be a bookseller to get a wholesale rate. A mere agent not carrying stock, but simply buying on orders, would not be supported or supplied by the publishers, as he does not carry stock or assume the risk of the business.
13. He would therefore have to carry a reasonable amount of stock to be considered a bookseller. The libraries may not know that the discount given the bookseller is qualified by the quantity purchased of each item. Thus, the average trade discount now prevailing on net books and net fiction is 30 per cent in small quantities. If he purchases 10 to 25 copies of a title, he gets an extra 5 per cent. If he purchases 50 to 250 of a title (according to the publisher and the book offered) he gets an extra 10 per cent. The libraries familiar with this discount, and being misguided as to the results, argue that a better discount than they now get should be given them by the bookseller. We have not included here the great number of books published at such discounts as 25 per cent, 20 per cent, 15 per cent, and even 10 per cent, to which must be added transportation and other charges. More of such books are bought by libraries than by the retail buyer, such as educational books, scientific books, medical books, law books, subscription books, etc.