Industry News

The ABA Board of Directors held its spring meeting in Chicago from March 28 - 30.

At the meeting, the Board:

Book Sense has established a marketing partnership with The Minute Maid division of The Coca-Cola Company to attract consumers participating in reading groups to independent bookstores with Book Sense. The new sweepstakes promotion for BACARDI® Mixers will run for four months starting in July. Bookstores participating in Book Sense must sign-up to participate in the program.

Following a significant increase in the submission of bookstore financial data to the ABACUS project, ABA has extended the deadline for bookstores to contribute data to the first year's study to April 30.

The impact of the war in Iraq is felt by communities everywhere in the country. In many towns, reservists have been called up, family life has been disrupted, and businesses are experiencing fluctuations in sales and traffic. Nowhere is the deployment of soldiers felt more profoundly than in the towns that include military bases and stations.

By Michael Katzenberg

The topic of customer privacy in the age of the USA Patriot Act -- a law that gives the FBI expanded powers to search bookstore and library records -- is a serious issue that concerns all independent booksellers, who fear the day when the FBI comes to demand information about customers' book purchases.

The Audio Publishers Association (APA) recently announced the names of the 130 finalists for the Eighth Annual Audie Awards. This year, the Audie Awards, which honor excellence in audio publishing, will be presented in 27 categories. A panel of over 150 judges representing all areas of the audiobook world selected the finalists. All titles submitted must have been released between November 1, 2002 and October 31, 2002. The awards will be presented on Friday evening, May 30, at the Petersen Car Museum in Los Angeles, in conjunction with BookExpo America.

On Wednesday, April 2, Book Sense launched its first weekly Extended Bestseller lists, posted on ABA's trade Web site, www.BookWeb.org. The Extended Bestseller lists show the top 16 - 50 bestselling books in the categories of hardcover fiction and nonfiction and trade paperback fiction and nonfiction, as reported by hundreds of independent bookstores across the country. The Extended Bestseller lists will be posted on Wednesday afternoons along with the regular Book Sense Bestseller lists.

The list of Citywide Book Clubs continues to grow. When Bookselling This Week first published a listing of book club initiatives in March 2002, it included 45 community-reading events. At present, the list -- BTW's fifth update -- numbers 131. Seven new book clubs have been added and information for four book clubs has been updated since the last list, published in January.

Author Toni Morrison

On March 25, BookExpo America announced that renowned author Toni Morrison would be a convention speaker at the BEA Book & Author Breakfast on Saturday, May 31.

The month of April always strikes an emotional chord. It's been taunted as the "cruellest month," flattered as the gentle lamb, and endured as that necessary soaker before the beautiful blooms of May can appear. Lyricists have extolled the romance of April in Paris. But Chaucer saw the sweet showers of April as a most propitious time to embark on a journey of discovery.

Keeping Customer Records in the Age of the USA Patriot Act

By Chuck Robinson

In early March, Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced the Freedom to Read Protection Act (H.R. 1157), federal legislation that would remove a threat to the privacy of bookstore and library records posed by Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act. Though the bill has 58 co-sponsors thus far, Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX), one of the sponsors of the bill, urged booksellers to rally behind H.R. 1157 so that more members of the House would support the bill.

At present, 58 fellow members of Congress have joined Rep. Bernie Sanders in introducing federal legislation that would remove a threat created by the USA Patriot Act to the privacy of bookstore and library records. The bill, H.R. 1157, the Freedom to Read Protection Act, would prevent the FBI from seeking "personally identifiable information concerning a patron of a bookseller or library." However, the government could still attempt to subpoena this information if it can make sufficient legal showing.

Scholastic today announced that it has redefined its policy regarding Scholastic Book Fair's pre-selling of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. In a letter to booksellers, Michael Jacobs, Scholastic's senior vice-president, trade, said the new Retailer Coupon Program is intended to drive Scholastic Book Fair customers who pre-order the Order of the Phoenix to participating retailers.

During the past week, the U.S.-led war on Iraq became a reality. Whether one agrees or disagrees with the U.S. decision to oust Saddam Hussein, the Iraq war likely means tough months ahead for small businesses.