Kinuachdrach says,

Anecdote does not equal data

Touche. My observation about the “dwindling” of the gatekeepers is just that, an observation reported in anecdotal form, nothing more, nothing less.

But, (and you knew one was coming, didn’t you), you ask, “How do we select those few books we have time to read?” My response is, “Google”. Which implies that instead of permitting the current gatekeepers to hinder the scanning of all written work into some open source data base or other where it can be accessed by all, we, as a people, need to get with it and start scanning. But then, of course, we would have no time for creating new ideas, new innovations in thought. We need to find a safe, healthy way to “overclock” our brains.

And I will confess freely, that in my enthusiasm for making all the intellectual content of the world available for surfing, I have avoided entirely the “market forces” that tend to drive intellectual invention and need to be addressed. But then, that is after all the real purpose of the entrepreneur in the grand scheme of things. To make a new endeavor useful, available, and profitable.

Edit added: Obviously, all above is untested opinion.