First signs of a slight decline in second-hand bookstores in Britain

In July last year I reported on the welcome return in June of The Book Guide, which lists second-hand bookshops in Britain (and Ireland), as well as customer reviews.

This invaluable resource previously found that, contrary to popular belief, the number of second hand bookshops in the UK had increased by around 25% over a thirty year period, not decreases. The Guide listed around 1,187 bookshops in the UK in 2017, compared to 942 in Driff's comprehensive guide of 1984: and their scope was broadly similar.

We can now review the situation after 12 months of relaunch of the guide. Unfortunately, approximately 117 bookstores closed during the year. On the other hand, I count about 47 newly opened or newly discovered stores that have been notified. The net change is therefore minus 70. This is the first time a significant drop, to be distinguished from minor changes in the highs and lows of the total.

The guide is entirely dependent on the information provided by volunteers as readers go out and visit and report on what they find. There may still be more closures to report, although there may also be recently opened stores.

Even so, it's worth remembering that in historical terms, the total is still among the highest. There are still around 1,021 second-hand bookshops in the UK, up from 942 at Driff 38 years ago.

Addendum: Perhaps I should have included a link to my first article on this subject, The Rise of Secondhand Bookshops in Britain, in which I first suggested that the story of a decline was not (then) supported by the facts. I also discuss why the story persists.

(Marc Valentin)