Scottish bookseller Ainslie Thin, former chair and joint managing director at James Thin Ltd., died February 24. He was 89. The Bookseller reported that Thin earned a degree in chemistry from Edinburgh University but chose a different career path, training at Blackwell's in Oxford and Bristol. He went on to join the main Thin Ltd. bookshop at South Bridge, Edinburgh, in March 1958, where he worked with his cousin, Jimmy Thin.
Ainslie Thin made an effort to modernize the business, and Thin's was "the first bookshop chain to introduce computing into its operations. It was also one of the first to engage in steady expansion, first throughout Scotland and then south of the border," the Bookseller noted.
During his career, Thin was a director and chairman of Book Tokens, president of the Booksellers Association of the U.K. and Ireland, and director and treasurer of the Edinburgh International Book Festival for 15 years. He was also a director of BookTrust in England and a member of the National Trust for Scotland Merchandising Committee.