Industry News

Book Sense has announced the deadlines for the 2005 Book Sense Picks lists. The entire list is available here.

Due to overall increased consumer demand for electronic gift cards and the continued growing popularity of Book Sense Gift Cards in particular, the American Booksellers Association is announcing the discontinuation of the Book Sense Paper Gift Certificate Program.

To ensure a smooth ending for the program, please note the following:

The American Booksellers Association's Education Task Force will meet on Saturday, November 13, in Minneapolis to consider the results of the "ABA Education 2005 Survey." The survey to gather bookseller input to help guide ABA's future educational programming was distributed over the last few months to ABA member booksellers by e-mail, through BookW

On Thursday, October 21, Common Cause of Delaware, a nonprofit citizens lobbying organization dedicated to government reform and accountability, held a citizen's public meeting on the Safety and Freedom Ensured Act (S. 1709, SAFE Act) at Ninth Street Book Store in Wilmington, Delaware. The SAFE Act seeks to amend provisions of the USA Patriot Act, including Section 215, which gives law enforcement officials broad authority to demand that libraries or bookstores turn over books, records, papers, and documents.

The Southern California Booksellers Association (SCBA) will be holding its Fall Seminars on Friday, November 5, at the Hyatt Regency in Long Beach and its Authors Feast on Saturday, November 6, at the Aquarium of the Pacific, also in Long Beach.

WordsWorth Books in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a Harvard Square institution, will be closing its doors for good this Saturday, October 30, after having failed to find an investor to help keep the bankrupt store afloat, as reported by the Boston Globe. The WordsWorth closing adds to the list of recent closures in Harvard Square -- which includes retailers Abercrombie & Fitch, Brine's Sporting Goods, Tweeter (an electronics store), and a Chili's restaurant.

Nobel Peace Prize Winner Joins Battle for Free Speech

Linda Rosengarten, a graduate of the Bookseller School presented by Paz & Associates this fall, is the new owner of Cheshire Bookshop in Fort Bragg, California. Previously the executive director of a nonprofit organization, Rosengarten was ready for a new career when her long-time friend Howard Martin was looking to sell the 30-year-old store. She quickly moved to purchase Cheshire, and, like many new booksellers, was somewhat surprised by the learning curve. "It's hard," Rosengarten explained.

A diverse collection of authors and booksellers are turning up on the radio waves in a new venture called Writer's Voice Radio, a weekly program produced by Science Interchange in cooperation with A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books and KALW-FM Radio, both of San Francisco.

On Thursday, October 21, the Arkansas Supreme Court rejected the Arkansas Attorney General's contention that amendments to an Arkansas statute restricting the "display" of material that is "harmful to minors" applied to materials only harmful to more mature minors. The Supreme Court's opinion means that, when the case goes back to the federal judge, it will most likely be struck down on the grounds that it is unconstitutional.

On Thursday, October 21, Civic Economics released a new, in-depth local economic impact study, "The Andersonville Study of Retail Economics," that once again clearly illustrates that local merchants contribute significantly more money to the local economy than do retail chains.

ABA will be joining members of the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA) at the regional's fall trade show to be held on Sunday, October 24, and Monday, October 25, at the Borgata Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. As part of the full day of educational programming on Sunday, from 2:00 p.m.

Attendance at the New England Booksellers Association (NEBA) fall trade show, which was held from Friday, October 8, to Sunday, October 10, at Boston's World Trade Center, was up slightly this year compared to last year's show in Providence, Rhode Island, reported NEBA Executive Director Rusty Drugan, who told BTW that "the educational programming ... was a hit throughout the show.

To provide independent professional booksellers with access to the education, information, and business services they need to succeed in a changing world, which is the number-one goal of ABA's Strategic Plan, the association has been seeking bookseller input regarding future educational programming through responses to ABA's "Education 2005 Survey."