Bookstores in Shanghai are facing difficult times. Recently the Luming bookstore, the only independent bookstore at Fudan, moved to a new home in Fudan University's southern campus.

Independent bookstores used to thrive in Shanghai's university areas but over the last decade they have been vanishing.  In the city also, many other independent and chain bookstores have shut down, and some have taken to selling books by weight rather than title.

What do expats think about this? Is the shrinking book market a symptom of modern times and the expansion of electronic readers? Is this a bad thing? What is happening to bookstores in other countries?

Ryan Allan, from the UK, sales manager

"What is happening now in Shanghai has been also happening for some time in the UK, where I come from. For some time now independent bookshops have been struggling to survive and many of them were forced to close. One of the reasons is definitely the rise of e-books. While e-book sales continue to rise, print book sales are slowly declining. Personally, it concerns me. Independent bookshops are closing down, fewer books are being sold and the Internet takes advantage.

I believe bookshops have a positive impact on a community and sometimes provide much more than books. I think bookshops should be fought for to be preserved."

Julia Schorr, from Germany, translator

"Shanghai is not the only place that is facing the problem of closing book stores. All over the world independent bookstore owners have been struggling to keep their businesses open.

In my opinion the main reasons for this are e-books and the Internet. The majority of people now prefer to buy an e-book or simply buy books off Amazon, as most of the time they can get a better deal online and it saves them the hassle of having to walk to the store themselves.

It is really saddening that so many bookshops are closing down. I personally prefer to walk to the bookstore, look around and ask the owner for recommendations. I also prefer an actual book and the smell of a newly purchased book is priceless to me. I know that many book lovers would be devastated if bookshops were to die out and be replaced by the Internet."

Christine Armstrong, from the US, design manager

"Definitely online sales have taken away the crowds of bookshop customers. With the rise of e-books and Amazon I see why bookshops are finding it hard to cope, not only in Shanghai. I think the main reason is that it's often cheaper and easier to buy books online than to go to an actual bookstore.

For me there is nothing better than going to an actual bookstore. Maybe it's because ever since I can remember I was always with a book in my hand. The experience of buying a book off the Internet doesn't even compare to the experience of going to a real bookstore. In a bookstore you can pick as many books as you like, flip through them, read few pages and decide if you want to buy it or not. The atmosphere in bookshops, for me, is just so special. You can't get the same experience sitting in front of your computer.

But the simple fact of life is that times are changing and there is not much we can do about it. Bookshops will keep closing down as the pace of life keeps changing. People are getting busier and not many of us have time to spend hours in the bookshop choosing that perfect book. The convenience of buying a book and having it delivered to your doorstep in 24 hours from the comfort of your own home will always give the digital world an advantage over an actual bookstore.

What we can hope for is that in years to come we will still be able to walk down the road and choose a book in our favorite bookstore."