Industry News

There are two important deadlines coming up for the Book Sense Picks programs:

• Friday, March 4, is the deadline for the Reading Group Book Sense List, and
• Friday, March 11, is the deadline for the May Book Sense Picks List.

Now in its third year, the Book Sense Reading Group list -- initiated at the suggestion of booksellers in the Book Sense program -- has been a big success with book-buying consumers.

The American Booksellers Association will be hosting a Booksellers Forum and Education Program in conjunction with two regional booksellers associations -- the New England Booksellers Association (NEBA) and the Midwest Booksellers Association (MBA, formerly UMBA) -- on March 8 and March 12, respectively. ABA and the regional associations invite all area booksellers to attend the events, which feature some things new and different in addition to the education programming and booksellers forums that attendees have come to expect.

The American Booksellers Association held a Booksellers Forum and Education Program, in conjunction with the Southern California Booksellers Association (SCBA), at the Long Beach Hilton in Long Beach on Wednesday, February 16. "The format was excellent," said SCBA Executive Director Jennifer Bigelow. "I love the way the ABA forum offers an educational opportunity, a chance to network with other booksellers, voice concerns, and learn firsthand what the ABA is doing."

In an effort to solicit important feedback regarding the Book Sense Picks list, ABA is asking bookstores in the Book Sense program to participate in a short survey, which they received in the February Red Box mailing. Booksellers can also complete the survey online at www.bookweb.org/read/7619, or can download it in PDF format by clicking here.

Every week dozens of booksellers seek and share advice and information about bookselling and the book industry on BookWeb's Idea Exchange Forums. Here, BTW presents a look at some of this week's topics -- with the hope that more booksellers will join in.

Among the scams plaguing bookstores across the country is one in which fraudulent orders are placed through the relay telephone system developed to assist the hearing-impaired. To help new employees understand the scam and to provide an appropriate response to a relay call, Molly Seamans, the assistant manager of Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, Massachusetts, put together a relay call reference sheet, which is shown to all new employees when they join the staff, and a dialog sheet, which is taped near the telephones at the store's information desk.

On Wednesday, February 16, Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) introduced in the Senate "The Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2005" (S.406), which looks to "help small businesses access greater health insurance options and lower premiums" by allowing for the creation of Association Health Plans (AHP). The bill was co-sponsored by a bi-partisan group of 10 senators, including Senators Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) and John McCain (R-AZ). Following its introduction into the Senate, S.

This April will be the 10th annual National Poetry Month, and, to help booksellers prepare for the month-long celebration of verse, the Academy of American Poets (AAP), organizers of the annual event, have made numerous resources available on their website at www.poets.org.

Preliminary reports from the Current Retail Trade Branch of the Bureau of the Census show retail sales at bookstores during December 2004 were fractionally higher than the previous December. Sales for the final month of the year ended an eight-month slide in bookstore sales and offered hope that bookstore sales may finally be turning the corner. December 2004 bookstore sales of $2,122 million were 0.05 percent higher than the $2,121 million of December 2003.

Booksellers and other industry professionals attending ABA's Celebration of Bookselling at this year's BookExpo America (BEA) will be treated to an event hosted by multitalented performer Al Franken.

At this month's meeting of the American Booksellers Association's Board of Directors, the Board approved the report of the ABA Nominating Committee, chaired by ABA Board member Suzanne Staubach of UConn Co-op in Storrs, Connecticut. The Committee presented the Board with the names of three candidates for three-year terms (2005 - 2008) as directors on the Board. (Under the current ABA bylaws, each year three members of the nine-member Board come to the end of their terms.)

ABA will be holding a Booksellers Forum and Education Program in conjunction with the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA) at the Tudor Bookshop in Kingston, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, March 6. All area bookstore owners and staff are encouraged to attend the event, which includes a substantive educational component and an update on ABA programs and initiatives, as well as an opportunity to meet with association senior staff to ask questions and to offer comments.

ABA held a Booksellers Forum and Education Program on Tuesday, February 15, in conjunction with the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (NCIBA) at the regional's offices in the Presidio in San Francisco. NCIBA Executive Director Hut Landon described the event, attended by 36 booksellers, as "really upbeat. People raised a lot of good issues, questions, and concerns.

As a helpful reminder to member booksellers, ABA has begun producing a "3-Month Bookseller Action List," highlighting important dates and deadlines related to ABA and Book Sense activities and events. The list for February through April 2005, which was included in the February Red Box mailing to stores with Book Sense, is also provided below and is available in pdf format.

Has your store commemorated Black History Month with a special event? An author appearance? A celebration involving children?

If you have done something special to celebrate this month, BTW would like to hear from you for an upcoming story. Please send an e-mail to [email protected]; include a description of your special event and/or contact information.