Industry News

This past New Year's Day, two bookstores marked the holiday with successful celebratory sales events as a way to thank their customers. In Tempe, Arizona, Changing Hands Bookstore continued its tradition of holding a Customer Appreciation Day sale on January 1, while The King's English bookstore in Salt Lake City launched its first appreciation day, complete with hors d'oeuvres, champagne, and lots of handselling.

Changing Hands Bookstore, Tempe, Arizona

Here is an outline of the most recent changes to the ABA Book Buyer's Handbook online.

Publishers can update their online listings and add special offers at any time using the Publisher Editing Tools at http://handbook.bookweb.org/pubhome.jsp. Questions about access to the editing features of the Handbook online should be e-mailed to [email protected] or call (800) 637-0037, ext. 1263 or 1261.

This week many booksellers nationwide received an e-mail from ABA COO Oren Teicher regarding the American Booksellers Association's efforts to achieve greater equity regarding the collection of sales tax on online sales. The e-mail noted the letter that ABA recently sent to the U.S. governors in the 45 states that collect sales tax. In that letter, ABA again called on states to fully enforce existing regulations by ensuring that retailers with a physical presence in their state collect sales tax on online sales.

The bookstore training and consulting group of Paz & Associates, in conjunction with the American Booksellers Association, is offering a spring workshop for those interested in, or already involved in, the process of opening or buying a bookstore. "Opening a Bookstore: The Business Essentials" will be held on March 23 - 28 in Fernandina Beach, Florida.

Participants will learn:

By Neal Coonerty

Whew, this Christmas stunk! Or, to be more precise, this Christmas retail season really stunk. As we closed the doors of our bookshop at 7:00 p.m. after an exhausting Christmas Eve, our sales were down 5.6 percent. Not only was the season bad, it was scary. On December 14, our sales were running nearly 10 percent down, and we were wondering if it might get even worse.

When the new congressional session opens, Vermont Congressman Bernard Sanders will be working to introduce legislation to eliminate provisions of the USA Patriot Act that threaten librarian and bookstore patrons' constitutionally guaranteed right to read and to access information without government intrusion or monitoring.

Writer and activist Daniel Ellsberg arrived at a recent panel co-sponsored by the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) and the Free Expression Network (FEN) just moments before the scheduled 5:30 p.m. start. With a winning smile and a mien that combined bookish uncle with friendly academic, Ellsberg looked engaging and relaxed, especially for a man who had been arrested that day at a Manhattan anti-war rally at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.

The American Booksellers Association has once again called on the U.S. governors in the 45 states that collect sales tax to fully enforce existing regulations by ensuring that retailers with a physical presence in their state collect sales tax on online sales.

Vermont Congressman Bernard Sanders will be holding a press conference on Friday, December 20, at 11:00 a.m., at the Fletcher Free Library in Burlington, Vermont, to announce his plans to introduce legislation that eliminates what he believes are unconstitutional provisions in the USA Patriot Act.

Charles Nurnberg, executive vice president of Sterling Publishing, wants to set the record straight.

Last week, when Barnes & Noble announced that it had acquired how-to publisher Sterling Publishing, some publishing experts predicted that Sterling would inevitably receive preferential treatment in B&N stores, and they wondered if the new arrangement ultimately would negatively affect Sterling's relationship with B&N's competitors -- Borders and independent bookstores.

Here is an outline of the most recent changes to the ABA Book Buyer's Handbook online.

Publishers can update their online listings and add special offers at any time using the Publisher Editing Tools at http://handbook.bookweb.org/pubhome.jsp. Questions about access to the editing features of the Handbook online should be e-mailed to [email protected] or call (800) 637-0037, ext. 1263 or 1261.

Anyone with doubts as to the popularity of gift certificates and books among holiday shoppers should check out the 2002 American Express Retail Index (AERI) on holiday shopping. According to AERI, gift certificates and books rank in the top five of items consumers plan to give or hope to receive this holiday season.

By Patrick Haller, Program Manager, LIBRIS

Contrary to expectations, the U.S. Supreme Court did not announce on Monday, December 16, whether it will hear Nike v. Kasky. The case did not appear on the day's order list, and now it is expected that the Supreme Court will announce its decision on or after January 13.

Bookstore sales softened in October, coming in at $1,107 million, or 2.9 percent lower than for October of the previous year.

While bookstore sales suffered this modest decline, overall retail sales also dipped. Overall retail of $300 billion for October 2002 was 0.7 percent lower than the $302 billion realized in October of 2001.

October is the ninth month in a row in which bookstore sales failed to keep up with overall retail.