Industry News

ABA member booksellers can now take advantage of an upload (and download) function in two of BookWeb's Idea Exchange forums. The enhancement is enabled in the Education Forum to allow booksellers to share ideas, best business practices, forms, lists, and other resource materials that may exist in different formats.

Last week, the American Booksellers Association announced the names of booksellers approved by the Board of Directors as candidates for the 2006 director elections. They are Gayle Shanks of Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona; Becky Anderson of Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville and Downers Grove, Illinois; and Beth Puffer of Bank Street Bookstore in New York City. Shanks is currently a member of the ABA Board and is eligible for one additional three-year term.

The American Booksellers Association is encouraging the owners and staff of all member bookstores to cast their ballots now for the 2006 Book Sense Book of the Year Awards.

By Peter Osnos, Senior Fellow for Media at The Century Foundation

The book is an eternal artifact of civilization. Sacred texts. Classics by a crackling fire; a great story; a library lined with the handsome bindings of favorites; a bookstore where browsing is a joy of reminiscence and discovery.

Retail sales at bookstores during December reached $2,090 million, up just .05 percent compared to December 2004, according to recently released estimates from the Bureau of the Census. This is the second month in a row that sales were up slightly compared to 2004 results. However, estimated bookstore sales of $15,924 million for all of 2005 were down 1.8 percent from the previous year.

In March 2001, when the owners of Maryland's Bibelot Books and Music declared bankruptcy and abruptly closed their four stores, the fate of many of the bookselling staff largely went unnoticed. However, for several of the "Bibelot survivors," as one former staff member dubbed herself and her former co-workers, their love of bookselling remained strong.

Here's a reminder about ABA/Book Sense programs and events. This list may also be downloaded in PDF format.

On Wednesday, February 8, representatives from Amazon.com and eBay Inc. told the U.S. House of Representative's Small Business Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform and Oversight that collecting sales tax on online purchases is within the industry's capabilities.

The American Booksellers Association Board of Directors, senior staff, and representatives from the regional booksellers associations held meetings from Saturday, January 28, to Monday, January 30, immediately following the Winter Institute at the Long Beach Hilton in Long Beach, California.

Among its activities during the three days of meetings, the Board:

Looking to build on the success of last year's ABACUS study, this week the American Booksellers Association started collecting data from member booksellers for the 2006 ABACUS study through a newly designed and easier-to-use Web form.

At the recent meeting of the American Booksellers Association's Board of Directors, held in conjunction with the Winter Institute in Long Beach, California, the Board approved the report of the ABA Nominating Committee, chaired by Cathy Langer of Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver, Colorado. The Committee presented the Board with the names of three candidates for three-year terms (2006 - 2009) as directors on the Board.

The American Booksellers Association's 2006 Forum tour comes to the Southeast on Monday, February 13.

Hurricane recovery is progressing slowly in New Orleans and southeastern Louisiana, and members of local arts and literary communities are facing tremendous challenges. In addition to coping with personal loss, they are faced with unprecedented cuts to public arts programs, private support jeopardized by a struggling economy, and the absence of vital community members who are scattered throughout the country.

Dutton's Books in North Hollywood to Close

Nominations Needed for Upcoming Lists