2018 Charleston Library Conference

"In a compelling narrative entitled “The Everything Store” (2013), Brad Stone chronicles the rise of the enviable Amazon enterprise created by the dynamic and innovative technology icon, Jeff Bezos. Based on a series of meticulously-substantiated claims from family, friends and colleagues, Brad Stone attributes the success of Amazon to Bezos’s leadership and vision that combined to foster innovation on an interdisciplinary level and create a lasting impact on the future of books, libraries and the digital world. This fascinating “Amazon Phenomenon” has not only revolutionized “access,” but engendered an operational shift in resource-acquisition technology, research, reading habits, preferences, and styles—all of which are linked to access to library collections and e-commerce in general.

This paper will analyze the impact of the Amazon infrastructure on library acquisitions and management services, with particular reference to ideas enunciated in “ The Everything Store” by Brad Stone. Discussions from experienced library practitioners will explore how Amazon has, in context, detail, insights, and style, enriched and re-shaped academic attitudes to reading, learning, and cultural memory. "