A petition is being sent to Congress, the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission to block Barnes & Noble’s proposed acquisition of the Ingram book company, the single largest supplier of books to small bookstores across the country.

This acquisition, should it be allowed to take place, is just one more example of the large-scale corporate consolidation that has infiltrated every corner of our culture.

As the desire to increase bottom line profits intensifies, so does the concentration of power in the book industry.

Consumers are left with an environment in which fewer and fewer people are deciding which books get published, and ultimately, which books American can buy and read.

Barnes & Noble has already entered into an alliance with a $14-billion media giant, German-owned Bertelsmann AG.

Now, with Barnes & Noble’s proposed acquisition of the billion-dollar Ingram Book company, there can be little doubt that the book industry is falling prey to the same anti-competitive ills that currently plague computer software and other industries.

This deal would make independent bookstores virtually dependent upon their largest competitor for their books. It would be as if Burger King and Wendy’s had to buy their French fries from McDonald’s.

I encourage all Americans who care about the free flow of ideas which are essential to any true democracy to exercise their right as citizens to lobby the government about this issue.

You may e-mail the American Booksellers Association at [email protected] for a copy of the petition.

Victor Verney

Oskaloosa