Industry News

Small Press Month is officially the month of March, but don't tell that to independent booksellers -- those who spoke to BTW explained that they celebrate small presses all year round. That's because small presses play a key role in the identities of their stores, allowing each independent bookstore to offer unique titles that their customers might not find elsewhere.

On February 14, Wesleyan University announced that an agreement had been reached for the purchase of the Atticus Bookstore in Middletown, Connecticut. The store, which will close on April 30, will undergo renovation and expansion to reopen by fall 2003 as the Wesleyan University Bookstore. Charles Negaro, Atticus' owner for over 25 years, is selling the Middletown business and building to the university but will maintain ownership of two other well-established Atticus Bookstores, in New Haven, Connecticut, and Amherst, Massachusetts.

On Thursday, February 20, approximately 25 booksellers attended an ABA Booksellers Forum, held in conjunction with the New England Booksellers Association (NEBA), at the Westford Regency Inn & Conference Center in Westford, Massachusetts. According to a number of attendees, the ABACUS sneak preview and ABA's investigation into developing an electronic gift card program were the hot topics of the day's numerous discussions.

John Rubin, a former management consultant who made his living working with huge corporations such as FedEx and Nabisco, is now hoping to help independent booksellers. Rubin's company, Rubin Venture Consulting, recently rolled out its new online software product, Above the Treeline, a tool meant to help bookstores improve finances by controlling inventory costs and increasing staffing efficiency.

Once again, booksellers at BookExpo America will have the opportunity to attend a special day of educational programming designed specifically for them. Organized and sponsored by American Booksellers Association, the full day of bookseller education panels and seminars is set for Thursday, May 29, from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Last year, when ABA's day-long bookseller education programming debuted at BEA in New York City, the panels and seminars were extremely well received.

While a massive blizzard buried the Northeast this past holiday weekend, in southern California, Margie Ghiz, owner of Midnight Special Bookstore in Santa Monica, was weathering her own storm. In a February 17 e-mail, Ghiz told more than 4,000 customers that the store was moving out of its current 5,000-square-foot location on the Third Street Promenade on February 24.

In an effort to provide members with updates on association business, as well as to answer questions and gather bookseller input to shape future programs and initiatives, the American Booksellers Association has been holding a series of Booksellers Forums this spring in conjunction with regional booksellers association meetings throughout the country.

On February 16, a crowd of approximately 650 people gathered at the First Congregational Church in Manchester, Vermont, to attend a poetry reading held to "honor the right to protest and dissent." The event, which was organized by Northshire Bookstore of Manchester Center, not only attracted a massive turnout and an impressive array of poetry talent, but also media from around the country.

Book buyers on the Coos Bay/North Bend coast of Oregon look forward to Books By the Bay owner Trish Midyette's birthday. Last November 28, she turned 36, and her patrons eagerly await her advancing years. Customers of the store know that every November 28 is declared Trish's Annual Birthday Blast, and, to show appreciation to all her customers, Trish discounts books one percentage point for each year of her life.

Ingram Book Group has collaborated with OurSelves, a new newsletter and Web site (www.ourselves.com) aimed at women between the ages of 45 and 65, to develop a merchandising program to reach women baby boomers, a demographic group of significant book buyers.

Retail sales for bookstores for December 2002 continued the decline that started last October. December bookstore sales of $2,160 million fell 1.7 percent behind the $2,197 million of December 2001.

By contrast, overall retail sales experienced a modest increase. Overall retail sales for December of $351 billion was 4.2 percent better than the $337 billion of the previous year.

December is the 11th month in a row in which bookstore sales failed to keep up with overall retail sales.

New Travel System and $30 Day Passes for ABA Bookstore Members

Traveling and registering for BookExpo America (BEA) has never been easier or more cost efficient. For the first time, BEA show organizers will be offering one-day passes to ABA bookstore members for the show, which will be held from May 30 - June 1 in Los Angeles.

Scholastic's "Harry Potter Bookseller Desk" has released a fact sheet answering a number of key questions regarding the publication of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which is scheduled to be published on June 21, 2003.

Included in the FAQs is information regarding shipping, delivery requirements, Scholastic's on-sale date contract and affidavit, carton quantities, and more.

Arguments to Be Heard in the Supreme Court on March 5

The American Library Association's (ALA) and American Civil Liberties Union's (ACLU) legal challenge of a federal library filtering law, which will be heard by the Supreme Court in March, continues. On Monday, February 10, ALA and the ACLU filed their response to the U.S. government's brief appealing a lower court's ruling that the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) is unconstitutional.

Other groups present the Oscars, the Grammys, and the Pulitzers … now readers in Red Lodge, Montana, population 2,000, can boast their own awards, the Lodgies. The awards are the brainchild of author and bookstore owner Gary Robson. The "First Annual Top Authors of Red Lodge Awards Ceremony" was held in January at the Elks Club in downtown Red Lodge.