Industry News

In 2001, after hearing that a Borders Books & Music would be moving to Corvallis, Oregon, Jack Wolcott, co-owner of Grass Roots Books & Music, and Bob Baird, owner of The Book Bin, asked the founders of the Boulder Independent Business Alliance (BIBA), Jeff Milchen and Jennifer Rockne (more recently, the founders of the American Independent Business Alliance) to host a Town Hall Meeting regarding the impact of local businesses versus chains.

On Thursday, May 29, approximately one hundred booksellers attended ABA's Marketing Workshop, held during BookExpo America in Los Angeles. The session, moderated by Michael Hoynes, ABA's marketing officer, focused on strategies and tactics that independent booksellers can use to gain a greater share of current customers' business and to introduce new customers to the unique values of independent bookstores.

BookSense.com has been alerted by a number of booksellers to a new fraudulent order scheme that is being perpetrated on member bookstores. In the new scam, booksellers are receiving handwritten orders via postal mail from Nigeria, accompanied by a check for several thousand dollars. In the past, fraudulent orders have typically taken the form of an e-mail, or an order placed through a store's online shopping cart, for a large number of books, with the purchaser being based in a foreign country.

During the week of July 14 -18, The History Channel is traveling the highways and byways of America during Hit the Road Week, and, to complement the series, stores with Book Sense will be featuring bookmarks for Fodor's The Thirteen Colonies and Fodor's Old West in their History Channel/Hardcover History in-store displays. The bookmarks were sent to participating stores in the June white box mailing.

Patricia S. Schroeder, president and CEO of the Association of American Publishers and a former Democratic representative from Colorado's 1st Congressional District, calls for the passage of the Freedom to Read Protection Act in this Op-Ed piece, which was published in the July 6 edition of the Denver Post.

By Patricia S. Schroeder

The fall regional booksellers association trade show season will begin with the Mid-South show, to be held on September 4 - 7 in Austin, Texas. Throughout September and October, there will be eight more shows as well as the Southern California Booksellers Association's Authors Feast and Fall Seminars.

Bookselling This Week will provide complete pre- and post-show coverage for all of the events. Look for BTW's pre-show coverage to begin in the coming weeks.

Here is a list of the fall shows:

Ten San Francisco independent bookstores are joining together to celebrate the Fourth of July by offering tax-free sales for July 4, 5, and 6. Each store will also celebrate independence in its own way -- with readings, in-store promotions, and food, among other things. The stores noted in a press release that this was their way of expressing appreciation to San Franciscans for their loyalty to independent bookstores.

The new Square Books Jr.

Two new bookstores decided to catch a ride on Harry Potter's cloak tails and scheduled grand opening celebrations during the Order of the Phoenix book launch.

In January, the U.S. Supreme Court said it would hear Nike v. Kasky -- a case that could have produced an important ruling on whether or not the First Amendment protects corporate commercial speech. Now, the Supreme Court says it won't hear the case after all. On June 26, the high court issued a one-sentence order declaring it had changed its mind -- that Nike's appeal had been "improvidently granted." The case will head back to California's state court, though experts believe there's a good chance that it will end up at the door of the U.S.

"The nice thing about milestones is that they give you the occasion to sit back and take stock," said Elliott Bay Book Company's Peter Aaron. However, when Elliott Bay celebrated 30 years of bookselling on June 29, it's likely that Aaron didn't have much chance to sit back, as the store hosted author readings and a party for 300 people, including employees, past employees, and friends. Terry Tempest Williams showed up; so did poet Madeline DeFrees.

Aaron recently spoke to Bookselling This Week about how Elliott Bay has weathered the years.

Village Books in Bellingham, WA

Used books and remainders play a key role in the independent booksellers' ongoing quest for increased margin.

ABA is currently polling bookstore members to find out how many stores are interested in purchasing a new print edition of the ABA Book Buyer's Handbook. In April 2002, the ABA Book Buyer's Handbook online launched at handbook.bookweb.org/, and since that time more than 750 publishers, distributors, and wholesalers have changed or added information to their company data.

Continuing the growing trend of effective collaboration among independent businesses, Books & Beyond's Karen Dallett teamed up with Utah's Sundance Resort to present the Fireside Reading Series. In spring 2002, Dallett, whose store is located in Heber City, Utah, and Sundance launched a series of author readings in the Tree Room library of the resort, located at the base of 12,000-foot Mount Timpanogos.

ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz

On Monday, June 30, ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz sent a congratulatory e-mail to stores with Book Sense for the "extraordinary achievement" of having a record-breaking number -- 441