The deadline to complete the ABACUS survey will be here before you know it! Have you completed your ABACUS yet?

Stores that complete the survey will receive not only the industry-wide report for 2024, but also an individualized company report that highlights how your store compares to other stores in a range of areas.

ABACUS is an incredibly useful tool for your business and for the whole industry. Stores use it to negotiate leases, analyze their finances, educate schools about the importance of buying local, and so much more! ABA uses it to advocate for stores and lobby for better terms with publishers, apply for grants, and to inform our educational programming. 

Booksellers have until June 14 to submit their responses.

To get started, you’ll just need your tax return and the year-to-date Z report from your POS!

If you would like assistance, or are participating for the first time, ABA CFO (and former bookstore owner) PK Sindwani will be offering several ABACUS workshops with step-by-step instructions for the ABACUS questionnaire. Visit BookWeb to register for the session that works best for you.

HB 1375, Texas’ bookstore bounty bill, died without a vote last Thursday, May 15. Had it passed as introduced, the bill would have allowed anyone to file a civil suit seeking damages against a commercial entity or its shareholders if they could plausibly claim a minor was harmed by content they created, published, or displayed. 

You did this. You made your voices heard and cut through the partisan divide to find common sense.

The public comment on this bill was overflowing with demonstrations of why this would be bad for booksellers, readers, publishers, and authors — but especially booksellers.

Visit BookWeb to learn more about this bill and the booksellers who fought against it.

Pictured above, left to right, back row: David Matthis (head of BookPeople board), Joe Mayes (Co-Owner, Patchouli Joe's Books). Middle row: Jessica Young (Texas author), Charley Rejsek (CEO, BookPeople), Diane Mayes (Co-Owner, Patchouli Joe's Books), Madeline Smoot (BookPeople's BookKids Buying Director), Sara Stevenson (retired public Middle School Librarian), Jean Buckner (Owner of Vintage Books & Wine), Dawn Filer Ciranna (Owner, Next Chapter Books), Katy Lemieux (Talking Animals Books and Deep Vellum Publishing). Front row: Kelsey Black (Owner, The Book Burrow)

• Thursday, May 22 at 2:00 pm ET: ABA’s Annual Meeting and Community Forum
• Thursday, May 29 at 5:00 pm ET: ABACUS Workshop
• Monday, June 2 at 12:00 pm ET: Ci2025 Virtual Institute Orientation
• Tuesday, June 3 at 3:00 pm ET: New Member Series: Meet The Partners
• Friday, June 6 at 2:00 pm ET: ABACUS Workshop

Attendees, don’t forget to download the Children’s Institute 2025 event app for easy access to all things Ci2025.

And check out our event schedule, Institute FAQ, First-Timers Checklist, and Publisher Dinners pages to start planning your time in Portland.

Swipe Fee Reform

Important update: Late last night, the Senate sponsors of the Credit Card Competition Act filed the swipe fee reform bill as the Marshall-Durbin amendment to the GENIUS Act. The amendment would lower credit card swipe fees. The bill’s sponsors are pushing for it to get a vote this week, so please email or call your senators.

As lawmakers in DC debate swipe fee reform, Director of Advocacy and Public Policy David Grogan published an op-ed in today’s Albany Times Union explaining the importance of swipe fee reform for small businesses, especially independent bookstores. 

Right to Read Legislation in New York

Associate Director of American Booksellers for Free Expression (ABFE) Philomena Polefrone was in Albany yesterday for a lobby day supporting New York’s Open Shelves Act (S 1100), Freedom to Read Act (S 1099), and additional Assembly Bills supporting the freedom to read.

The lobby day was organized by Penguin Random House and featured parents, students, authors, illustrators, and representatives from Authors Against Book Bans, the American Library Association, EveryLibrary, Authors Guild, the New York Civil Liberties Union, and more. The effort was well-timed, with both acts passing a floor vote in the Senate at the end of the day. They will now go to the Assembly for consideration. 

Last Night: PEN America Event Safety Webinar

Yesterday evening, Associate Director of ABFE Philomena Polefrone joined author Samira Ahmed, PEN America’s Digital Safety and Free Expression Consultant Yemile Bucay, and PEN America host beck haberstroh for “So You’re Hosting a Book Event…” safety webinar. 

Thank you to the panelists and attendees for a great conversation. A recording of the webinar will be made available to ABA members in the coming weeks.

New Hampshire: HB 324 Must Be Vetoed

If it passes, HB 324 will increase the number of book bans in New Hampshire, which threatens the next generation of New Hampshire readers. Stand up for Granite State students by demanding Governor Ayote veto HB 324.