Barnes y Noble in Spanish
Yeah! Check it out, Barnes & Noble is expanding their Spanish language section in a massive rollout both online and in their stores. This is *fantastic*!
Books in all categories will be added, from self-help to literary fiction. And Barnes & Noble.com has started Libros en Espanol, an online service that includes author interviews, a best-seller list -- topped by the Spanish edition of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's memoirs -- and a guide to Barnes & Noble stores that sell works in Spanish.
"We've had double digit increases in sales for the past four years in Spanish language books," says Mike Ferrari, director of merchandising for Barnes & Noble. "It's one of the few areas where you're fighting to keep up with customer demand."
While much of the industry has struggled in recent years, interest in Spanish-langauge books has been rapidly increasing. Many credit the 2000 census, which showed the number of Hispanics increased by 58 percent over the previous decade to 35.3 million, drawing nearly even with non-Hispanic blacks as the largest minority group in the United States.
One of the things I was sorta worried about for Ana is wondering if there was going to be a decent source of Spanish language material for her and for Alex when we get to the U.S. I have lots of trouble finding English books here - there's a basic selection, but not much more. I was worried Ana wouldn't even find that much, even in California. This really eases my brain on this subject.
I know it's a big bad chain and all that, but I *really* love B&N. They have a bunch of books, a cafe, and you can lounge around for hours and no one cares, and they're open late. Now that they they'll have Spanish language books as well, it couldn't be better.
Cool beans.
-Russ