Industry News

Reminder: The deadline to submit photos of children's bookstores with Book Sense for the next Book Sense New Yorker insert is rapidly approaching! Photos for The New Yorker's consideration must be sumbitted by Thursday, August 7.

Children's titles will be the feature of the next Book Sense insert, which will appear in the October 6 issue, on sale September 29. To complement the story, the magazine is seeking photographs, especially good exterior shots, of children's bookstores with Book Sense.

In a new grassroots effort to support independent booksellers, Larry Portzline, a part-time teacher, has developed the concept of "Bookstore Tourism," a term he coined (and trademarked). The goal of Bookstore Tourism, according to Portzline's Web site (www.bookstoretourism.com), is "to encourage book-lovers across the United States to organize day-trips to cities and towns with interesting, fun, and unique bookstores that folks in their own communities may not be able to visit regularly."

By Robin Whitten

The audiobook listener is in the driver's seat when it comes to choosing the CD or cassette format. Significant changes are underway in the availability of media formats as audio publishers pay closer attention to customer audio book purchase patterns and format preferences in an effort to increase sales.

Here, Laura Hansen, owner/manager of Bookin' It in Little Falls, Minnesota, muses on her bookstore's Good Living Cookbook Club, which started five years ago. As Hansen goes on to describe, the club is more than a book club -- it's a mix of good cook books, good friends, great food, with a dash of wine and rhubarb muffins thrown in for good taste.

As Bookselling This Week went to press, it was expected that Senator Russell D. Feingold (D-WI) would introduce the Library, Bookstore, and Personal Records Privacy Act into the Senate early next week. Feingold's bill would narrow the universe of people whose bookstore or library records could be searched under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

As booksellers begin to consider the Book Sense Gift Card program, the question of costs and profits arise. Various retail studies have shown, however, that money invested in a gift card program is money well spent, and booksellers who already have gift card programs in place attest to their ease of use, an increase in sales, and high consumer satisfaction.

Renowned Canadian Author Carol Shields Dies at 68

On July 16, author Carol Shields died of complications from breast cancer in Victoria. She was 68. Shields' eldest daughter, Anne Giardini told Anne Collins, Carol's Canadian publisher, "This is a difficult time for us. It is going to take all of our courage, resolve, and grace to even try to go on without her. My parents had 46 years of marriage, but there were many happy, busy years ahead of them. She had many books left to write. We are bereft."

Banned Books Week, the national celebration of First Amendment rights, will be held this year from September 20 - 27. With the theme "Open Your Mind to a Banned Book," the event marks its 22nd year.

On Tuesday, July 21, civil liberty advocates received a mix of some good news and some bad news from the House of Representatives.

Books and all things literary -- including bookstores -- were celebrated at book fairs on the East and West coasts on Saturday, July 19. The Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (NCIBA) hosted its eighth annual Books By the Bay Festival, held in San Francisco's Yerba Buena Gardens. And QBR: The Black Book Review sponsored the Fifth Annual Harlem Book Fair. The Harlem Book Fair was held on 135th Street, which was closed to cars for the well-attended fair.

This month, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (UWW) released a new study, "America's Most Literate Cities," which provides a literacy ranking of America's 64 largest cities. Topping the list was Minneapolis, with Seattle, Denver, Atlanta, and San Francisco rounding out the top five.

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) is urging members of the book and library communities to contact their congressional representatives this week in support of an amendment that cuts off Justice Department funding for searches of bookstore and library records under Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act. Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will offer the measure as an amendment to the Commerce, Justice, State, and Judiciary Appropriations Bill of 2004. The bill, which has no number yet, is co-sponsored by Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and C.L.

The ABA Board held its summer meeting at the association's headquarters in Tarrytown, New York, from July 10 - 13.

At its meeting, the ABA Board:

The Book Sense Gift Card program will launch with five distinctive gift card designs. Based on the input of a number of booksellers, the card designs are appropriate for any occasion and for general and children's bookstores alike. To see the five gift card designs, click here (PDF format).

On Thursday, July 17, ABA wrote the producers of The Early Show regarding its Early Readers Club and offered possible ways that the association and independent booksellers might work together with CBS, which broadcasts the show. The Early Readers Club debuted on June 25 with the goal of promoting children's literacy. Guests on the show have included First Lady Laura Bush and American Library Association President Carla Hayden, executive director of the Enoch Pratt Free Library of Baltimore.