Industry News

13 Mar

ABA on Harry Potter: Scholastic Not Being Book Fair

Scholastic School Division is pre-selling Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix through Scholastic's book fairs. In at least one book fair promotion, for each Harry Potter order, Scholastic guarantees a first-edition copy, a collectible baseball cap, and an official certificate of purchase, which the buyer receives when pre-ordering the book.

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13 Mar

ABACUS Update: Special Session Set for BEA

Participating Booksellers Will Receive Bonus Reports

Booksellers attending this year's BookExpo America (BEA) will have the opportunity to attend a special session on the ABACUS project on Friday, May 30, from 9:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. The session will present an in-depth report on the project's first year's results, and all ABA members are invited to the session.

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13 Mar

Events Planner Organizes Bookstore Opening

For Kaye Peloquin, a former events planner, opening a bookstore in Lititz, Pennsylvania, has involved a long journey composed of hundreds of small steps. The 2,500-square-foot store, Buckhill Bookshop, will open around June 1. "Either right before or right after BEA, probably in the middle of the Harry Potter madness," joked Peloquin.

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13 Mar

Oliver Gilliland, Norton Sales Rep, Dies at 54

Oliver Holmes Gilliland, the national field sales manager for W.W. Norton & Company, died of liver cancer on March 1. He was 54.

"There was no one more devoted to this firm, its people, its independence, and most of all its books, than Oliver Gilliland," said W. Drake McFeely, Norton president and chairman. "His was the face of Norton at bookstores all across this country."

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13 Mar

Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Declares COPA Unconstitutional … Again

On March 6, the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled for the second time that the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) is unconstitutional. The court found that COPA violates adults' right to free speech, is overly broad, and fails "the strict scrutiny test." It is expected that the Justice Department will appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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13 Mar

Bookseller-Air Force Reservist Called for Active Duty

In preparation for war in the Middle East, orders from the Pentagon are placing thousands of military reservists on active duty. These reservists -- who previously were required to serve one weekend per month plus a 15-day tour per year -- include many pillars of their communities. Large numbers of police officers, firefighters, and corrections officers serve as reservists; quite a few high school wrestling coaches have been called up (according to AP reports), and, at least one bookseller.

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12 Mar

26 in Congress Join Sanders in Co-sponsoring the Freedom to Read Protection Act

Twenty-six fellow members of Congress have joined Rep. Bernie Sanders in introducing federal legislation that would remove a threat to the privacy of bookstore and library records, created by the USA Patriot Act. Under the provisions of H.R. 1157, The Freedom to Read Protection Act, the FBI would be barred from seeking "personally identifiable information concerning a patron of a bookseller or library." The government may still attempt to subpoena this information if it can make sufficient legal showing.

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12 Mar

Rep. Sanders Comments on the Freedom to Read Protection Act of 2003

On March 6, 2003, Congressman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced the Freedom to Read Protection Act of 2003, federal legislation that would remove a threat to the privacy of bookstore and library records that was created by the USA Patriot Act. At present, the proposed amendment has 26 co-sponsors, including Ron Paul (R-TX) and John Conyers (D-MI), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee.

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10 Mar

Today Book Club Picks a 76

On Monday, March 10, NBC News' Today Show announced that the ninth selection of its monthly "Today Book Club" is Caramelo, by Sandra Cisneros (Knopf). The title was a November/December 2002 Book Sense 76 pick.

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06 Mar

Congressman Sanders Introduces Patriot Act Amendment

At a press conference held today in Washington, D.C., Congressman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced federal legislation that would remove a threat to the privacy of bookstore and library records, created by the USA Patriot Act. At present, the proposed amendment, called the Freedom to Read Protection Act of 2003, has 24 co-sponsors, including Ron Paul (R-TX).

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06 Mar

2003 Book Sense Book of the Year Award Finalists -- Adult Fiction

This year's finalists for the Book Sense Book of the Year Award in the adult fiction category include two debut novels and stories that take place in settings as diverse as the turbulent Pacific Ocean and a placid, custom-made heaven. Plots weave through backdrops of the Civil Rights Act, acts of world war, and acts of depravity. In addition to their excellence, these five novels share youthful protagonists, all under the age of 20. The enormous range of their experiences make each book uniquely compelling.

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06 Mar

Supreme Court Hears Arguments in CIPA Case

The American Library Association's (ALA) and American Civil Liberties Union's (ACLU) legal challenge of a federal library filtering law continues.

On March 5, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments regarding the government's appeal of a lower court's ruling last May that the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) is unconstitutional. CIPA would require public libraries seeking government subsidies to install filtering software to block materials considered obscene, child pornography, or "harmful to minors."

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06 Mar

S'No Joke -- Century-Old Toy Fair Confronts the Elements

Barbie waited huddled by the Easy Bake Oven and even the Big Wheels needed four-wheel-drive when New York City was blanketed with close to two feet of snow in the middle of the 100th annual American International Toy Fair, held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center on the city's West Side from February 16 - 19. Retailers who attended on Sunday, the opening day of the show floor, and left promptly in the afternoon, were in luck. Others, who planned on visiting Monday or Tuesday, were faced with few, if any, transportation options.

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04 Mar

Madeleine Albright, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Gerry Adams Headline BEA Breakfast Speaker Program

Ellen DeGeneres to Appear at Benefit Performance

BookExpo America (BEA) has announced speakers for its special events at this year's trade show, including its annual Book & Author Breakfasts. BEA will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, May 28 - June 1, 2003.

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04 Mar

Demonstrating Real Patriotism

By Linda Ramsdell

New England Booksellers Association President Linda Ramsdell recently wrote NEBA members about her concerns over the USA Patriot Act, the importance of the First Amendment, and her beliefs about the full definition of the word "patriot." BTW is grateful to Ramsdell and to NEBA for permission to reprint her letter from the February issue of NEBA News.

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About ABA

The American Booksellers Association, a national not-for-profit trade organization, works with booksellers and industry partners to ensure the success and profitability of independently owned book retailers, and to assist in expanding the community of the book.

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