Are Used and Antiquarian booksellers Doomed to Extinction ?

This is a subject dear to my heart as I was a antiquarian book seller for many years and still list some books on my web site even today. Will the printed word of the past be collectible in the future? I think in the short term the answer is yes but not in the long term. People have and will continue to move away from books not only as collectibles but also as as source of enjoyment. We as a people are slowly losing the desire to read just for  pleasure, we want instant gratification so we turn to Smart phones, the web ,Television . Movies , video games and the list grows daily. Many younger people are losing the attention span that is required to sit and read for any period of time. The basic for book collecting and just plain reading starts with the connections we make with the books we have read. Book shops of all kinds are closing daily and on line book sites are hurting as many dealers move on to others jobs and the open shop antiquarian book market is now maybe half the size it was only a few years ago. Rents are too high and sales are to low. I used to do 35 book shows year and had an open shop with 60,000 to 80,000 books in it. I still sell online but closed the shop 6 years ago and would be hard pressed to find a book show worth doing. I  sell much more in the way of  vintage ephemera and collectible advertising , letters , documents, trade catalog than in used or collectible books these days. It is hard times for A great class of people in this country, bookselling is a noble profession and over the years it has been my honor and pleasure to know both collector and bookseller and I for one will be very sorry to see this way of life lost.
Peace,
Stephen
www.biblioboy.com