Python Books & improving PyAwareness - How to ?

[Jason Cunliffe]

Hello

I am very happy to see the new Python books appearing. Some good titles and
all the new ones I've picked up are excellent [Quick Python, The Essential
Python Reference and Python-Annotated archives]...my sincere thanks to
their respective authors.

I imagine that most people shooping for Pyhton books will tend to follow
the links from www.python.org pages and purchase through amazon.com or
similar.

Meanwhile, I have been making an ad-hoc survey in the New York City
bookstores over the holiday. Sad to say there is a very low profile of
python books there. Only a couple of copies at best in most
stores...compared to shelf-fulls of the other P and J lanaguage books. Even
worse [but perhaps significant] is that in most stores the Python books
were extremely oddly placed - sometimes a volume or two in the multimedia
section, sometimes a tome in Internet, somtimes a copy wher you would
expect it a thte end of the Perl shelf. In no store did I find all the
current published Python books together. 

I noted that ther was no Python books in Linux sections - which I think is
rather surprisin and dissappointing, especially given the enthusiasm now
for Linux sections in these stores.

I doubt that anyone here can directly affect much of this - but I still
think it is worth some consideration:

Q1: How to improve the bookstore/publisher handling of Python book
placement?

Q2: Does it matter? 

Either people wil be discouraged about Python because it appears in this
context to be so marginal and insignificant OR they will simply conlcude
that on-line book shopping is the only way to go.. Non-progammers, people
hiring technicians may be less likely to take Python as seriuosly if they
go to the local store to see what's cooking..

Presumably bookstore buyers respond to 4 main forces: 
1.  Distributors
2.  Publishers
3.  Direct customer request 
4.  Conscientious motivated sales staff

I would guess that 1+2 are the major players, but 3 and 4 can often act as
valuable influences. I always makea point of asking in person to see see
what awareness there is.  

Q3: Do you think a coodinated ad-hoc survey feedback from member so this
list woudl have any effect on the publishers of Python books?

any ideas..?

best wishes for Py2k
- Jason