Industry News

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) is urging booksellers to add their store names to the growing list of those endorsing the Book and Library Community Statement Supporting The Freedom to Read Protection Act (H.R. 1157); The Library and Bookseller Protection Act (S. 1158); and The Library, Bookseller, and Personal Data Privacy Act (S. 1507).

Macalester College, a major creditor of Ruminator Books in St. Paul, Minnesota, has given the 33-year-old store an ultimatum -- Ruminator must raise $500,000 by January 31 or close its doors and surrender its assets to the college. Ruminator's debt to the school now exceeds $600,000, according to the bookstore's stock offering Disclosure Document.

This week Book Sense announces the 2004 Valentine's Day Top Ten. The list is produced in conjunction with the Association of American Publishers' (AAP) Get Caught Reading initiative. This is the first in a series of seasonal Top Ten lists that Book Sense and AAP will be creating this year based on the nominations of independent booksellers nationwide.

Thirteen-year-old Canterbury Booksellers in Madison, Wisconsin, recently announced it will be closing on February 29, and Madison's Avol's Book Store, which sells used and scholarly books, will take over its location and reopen on March 1 under the name Avol's Books at Canterbury. Avol's has already begun moving inventory into various sections of the store as Canterbury sells its own stock at a discount. During the transition both stores will be operating out of Canterbury, and the original Avol's will also stay open until February 29.

Book Sense sends many thanks to all the booksellers who took the time to send in nominations for the upcoming Reading Group 76, which is now in production. It's a fascinating list and would not have been possible without the widespread involvement of independent booksellers from coast to coast.

There are several key deadlines in January for upcoming lists.

Two deadlines are for Top Ten lists -- The Poetry Top Ten and The Spring History Top Ten, which will be compiled by Book Sense in association with The History Channel.

2004, the Year of Book Sense at Five, kicks off with a White Box brimming with useful point-of-purchase materials and lots of great reading for you to share with store staff from our ever-generous Publisher Partners. Here are some of the highlights:

Galleys, ARCs, and Finished Books:

by Scott Foley

It didn't happen again this year, either. Susan Stamberg didn't call me from National Public Radio to solicit my opinion about great new holiday titles. Every year about this time I'll depart on occasional reveries, imaginary conversations with NPR hosts. Occasionally, I'll even jot down a list of the books I'd mention were such a windfall to come my way.

In mid-December, Northshire Bookstore in Manchester Center, Vermont, concluded a seven-month expansion project, which encompassed both new construction and renovation. According to Chris Morrow, general manager of the store, the newly constructed spaces include a 3,000-square-foot children's book department and the 3,000-square-foot Spiral Press Café, seating 70 and serving full breakfast and lunch, coffee, and snacks.

The 63-year-old Concord Bookshop in Concord, Massachusetts, called one of the "jewels of New England," by Rusty Drugan, executive director of the New England Booksellers Association (NEBA), is embroiled in a public dispute between the staff, headed by three longtime booksellers who serve as the management team, and the store owners, members of three families, headed by Morgan "Kim" Smith, president of the store's board of directors.

A coalition of seven independent bookstores in the Lansing area of Michigan recently decided to work together to organize a community reading event that would encompass not only Lansing, but its surrounding suburbs as well.

Putnam Book Center Closes

Many booksellers serve as patron saints of favorite authors, but Susan Wasson of Bookworks in Albuquerque, New Mexico, went beyond typical high-volume handselling with Kris Radish's Elegant Gathering of White Snows, a 2002 November/December Book Sense 76 pick.

Booksellers in the Southeast will have two opportunities in January to meet with representatives of the ABA Board and senior staff to discuss issues of concern and share ideas, as well as get an update on the association's past activities and influence future plans. ABA's first forum of 2004 will be held on Friday, January 9, at the John F. Germany Public Library in downtown Tampa, Florida.

There will be no issue of Bookselling This Week during the week of December 22; however, the Book Sense Bestseller List will be compiled and e-mailed to booksellers as usual on Tuesday, December 23. In addition, the list in PDF format will be posted to the Web at www.bookweb.org/booksense/bestsellers/ either late Tuesday or early Wednesday, December 24. Booksellers will receive an e-mail from ABA when posting of the Bestseller List to BookWeb is complete.

This week, ABA sent e-mail invitations to booksellers in the Southeast and Great Lakes regions (including booksellers in Wisconsin) to attend the first two ABA Booksellers Forums of 2004. In conjunction with the Southeast Booksellers Association (SEBA), ABA will hold the first forum of the winter season on Friday, January 9, at the John F. Germany Public Library in downtown Tampa, Florida.