This is important. Maybe even more important than cars! No one should
have a monopoly on information.
THE PETITION:
This is so important to the small independent bookseller, please take a
moment to sign. If you are the 50th, 100th, 150th signature, please
e-mail the petition to the AMERICAN BOOKSELLERS ASSOCIATION, e-mail
address: ab-info@bookweb.org *******************************
PETITION TO BLOCK BARNES & NOBLE ACQUISITION OF INGRAM
This petition will be sent to the Congress, Department of Justice and
the
Federal Trade Commission to block Barnes & Noble's proposed acquisition
of the Ingram Book Company, the single largest supplier of books to
small bookstores across the country. This acquisition, should it be
allowed to take place, is just one more example of the large scale
corporate consolidation that has infiltrated every corner of our
culture. As the desire intensifies to increase bottom line profits, no
matter what the other consequences, so does the concentration of power
in the book industry.
Consumers are left with an environment in which fewer and fewer people
are deciding which books get published and ultimately, which books
Americans can
read and buy. Barnes & Noble has alread enteed into an alliance with the
$14
billion media giant, German-owned Bertelsmann AG. Now with Barnes and
Noble's proposed acquisition of the billion dollar Ingram Book Company,
there can be little doubt that the book industry is falling prey to the
same anti-competitive ills that currently plague computer software and
other industries.
This deal would make independent bookstores virtually dependent upon
their
largest competitor for their books. (It is as if Burger King and Wendy's
had to buy their french fries from McDonald's) We need your help. As a
patron of
independent booksellers, please sign the petition to help us lobby the
government to stop this proposed merger. Please exercise your right as a
citizen and tell the government how you feel. We sincerely thank you for
your support.
Please add your name to this petition and forward it to as many people
as you can.
IMPORTANT: Do not use the "forward" utility in your mail program.
Instead, cut and paste this message onto new, add your name to the
bottom of the list, and send it out.
1. Lucy Honig, Quincy MA
2. Ann Goodsell, Cambridge, MA
3. Stuart Rubinow, Brookline, MA
4. Susan McCulley, Charlottesville, VA
5. David McNair, Charlottesville, VA
6. Murdoch Matheson, Charlottesville, VA
7.. Pam Adler, San Rafael, CA
8. Elizabeth Collier, Seattle, WA
9. Corlu Collier, Newport, OR
10. George A. Collier, San Francisco, CA
11. Miriam Ticktin, San Francisco, CA
12. Beth Bashore, Menlo Park, CA
13. Blake Berry, Sunnyvale, CA
14. Abbi Young, Sunnyvale, CA
15. Daynee Lai-Krauss, Palo Alto, CA
16. Larry S. Dorfman, Menlo Park, CA
17. Dorothy Bender, Palo Alto, CA
18. David Greene, Palo Alto, CA
19. Joel Davidson, Palo Alto, CA
20. Darcy Horton, Los Altos, CA
21. Julie Forbes, Palo Alto, CA
22. Catherine Potyen, Pacifica, CA
23. Paul Potyen, Pacifica, CA
24. Ann Edminster, Pacifica, CA
25. Don Scott, Calistoga, CA
26. Richard H. Feibusch, Venice, CA
26. Paul Van Wig, Long Beach, CA
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