ABACUS

On Friday, June 3, ABA bookstore members received a special e-mail announcing that the ABACUS-10 surveying process had begun.

On Friday, June 3, ABA member bookstores are scheduled to receive a special e-mail from the National Association of College Stores’ OnCampus Research that will signal the start of the ABACUS-10 Survey process.

ABA recently convened four Bookseller Task Forces – Digital, Education, Local First, and ABACUS – to gather member input and suggestions for ABA initiatives and programming.

Bookstores that participated in the 2010 ABACUS Survey should receive a customized report analyzing their financial results by the end of next week.

ABA has announced the winners of two scholarships to the Sixth Annual Winter Institute – the Joe Drabyak Frontline Fellowship, sponsored by Workman Publishing, and the Avin Mark Domnitz Scholarship, awarded by ABA to a bookseller at a store that submitted financial data to the 2010 ABACUS Survey.

Last Friday, October 29, was the deadline for bookseller participation in the 2010 ABACUS Survey, and, this week, ABA announced that enough booksellers had submitted data for this year’s survey to go forward.

Friday, October 29, is the deadline for participation in the 2010 ABACUS Survey; however, the survey site will remain open through the entire weekend to allow stores not on Eastern Daylight Time to have all of Friday to complete the survey.

In an e-mail sent to members on Wednesday, October 20, ABA President Michael Tucker urges bookstores to submit their financial data to the ABACUS Survey by the October 29 deadline to ensure that a 2010 report will be produced.

The data collection process is underway for the 2010 ABACUS Survey, an invaluable tool used by ABA members to analyze their stores’ financial results and make plans for the future. In addition, owners and staff at stores submitting their data before the October 29 deadline can apply for the Avin Mark Domnitz Scholarship to the Winter Institute.

For the second year, ABA will award the Avin Mark Domnitz Scholarship to the Winter Institute in honor of its former CEO's wide-ranging contributions to independent bookselling. The scholarship to the Sixth Annual Winter Institute is open to the owners and regular employees of bookstores that submit their 2009 financial data to the ABACUS Survey.

On Thursday, August 5, ABA members received a special e-mail from the National Association of College Stores' OnCampus Research that began the information collection process for ABA's 2010 ABACUS financial survey.

On Thursday, August 5, ABA member bookstores were scheduled to receive a special e-mail from the National Association of College Stores' OnCampus Research regarding ABA's ABACUS financial survey. The e-mail begins the data collection process for the 2010 ABACUS initiative.

The American Booksellers Association has announced that it will produce the 2010 ABACUS Survey through a new partnership with the National Association of College Stores (NACS).

"NACS has a robust research department, along with years of experience running similar surveys for college bookstores," said ABA COO Len Vlahos. "With NACS collecting and compiling the data for us, we'll be able to offer a stronger product to our members."

This week, the American Booksellers Association began sending customized reports to member bookstores that participated in the 2009 ABACUS Survey. The individualized reports analyze the store's financial results and include comparisons with other businesses based on multiple criteria (such as sales level, store size, and community type) in addition to year-to-year trending information. All stores that participated in the 2009 study should receive an e-mailed report before the end of next week.

With the August 15 deadline for participation in the 2009 ABACUS Survey fast approaching, the future of this crucial business tool exclusively for ABA member booksellers remains uncertain. A big increase in the number of bookstores submitting their 2008 financial data is needed to enable ABA to compile a 2009 study.