Book prices may be tumbling down, but that isn't stopping computer maker HP from jumping on the bandwagon. HP has gained access to 500,000 books from the University of Michigan library. It will sell on-demand printed copies through Amazon and a few other retailers. While these books are out of copyright, HP is encouraging publishers to contact them about offering recently out of print but in copyright books to add to their database.

While the electronic company HP was announcing its entry into hard copy books, hard copy retailer Barnes and Noble announced it was moving into the electronic book business, offering an e-reader to compete with Amazon's Kindle. Barnes and Noble will be using books from Google's database for its new reader, dubbed the "Nook."

The past few decades have been active and filled with change for the book business. The advent of the book superstore such as Barnes and Noble chased many independent sellers from the field. The opening of the internet and Amazon in particular further disrupted the independents and even the superstore chains. In the field of old books, the internet led to the book listing sites such as AbeBooks, Alibris, and Amazon, and online auctioneer eBay, that similarly disrupted traditional used and antiquarian bookselling. However, we have never seen a flurry of activity such as we see now. Frequently, serious economic downturns result in a clearing out of old businesses and the development of new. We will come out of this recession with many great names either diminished or gone - AIG, Lehman Brothers, General Motors, Chrysler, throw in any airline. The book trade will also emerge with new players, though other than Google it is not yet clear who they may be. Stay tuned.