BTW - Week of October 16, 2019

In this first installment, Angela Maria Spring of ABA’s Committee on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion shares highlights about the team’s recent efforts.

Patterson is pledging a personal contribution of $250,000 to independent bookstore employees, which will be granted in amounts of $500 bonuses to 500 individual booksellers. 

This year, ABA member booksellers can take advantage of a range of special offers from more than 50 publishers, including traditional publishers as well as nearly two dozen university presses.

BTW Classifieds are the perfect place for booksellers to place help wanted ads, advertise fixtures or stores for sale, and more.

Libro.fm CEO and co-founder Mark Pearson and Christine Onorati of Libro.fm partner store WORD also appeared in the news segment to talk about the importance of indie bookstores.

NCIBA President Michael Barnard and SCIBA President Maryelizabeth Yturralde detailed plans for bringing the associations together.

Retail sales at U.S. bookstores were down by 10.3 percent in August 2019 compared to August 2018, according to preliminary figures from the Bureau of the Census. As of October 10, the year-to-date sales among ABA member stores, as reported to the weekly Indie Bestseller Lists, are down 0.26 percent over 2018. Compound annual growth among ABA member stores is 7.5 percent over the past five years. 

“We are a cultural institution disguised as a retailer,” said Jeff Deutsch, director of the Seminary Co-op Bookstores. “Our cultural work of creating an unparalleled browsing experience and a hub for community...needs no further utility to justify its existence.”