2009 ABACUS Survey Data Gathering Begins

ABA bookstore members can now begin submitting 2008 financial data to the 2009 ABACUS Survey via a secure and confidential electronic form on BookWeb.org.

Stores that participate in the ABACUS Survey receive a customized report analyzing their financial results, including comparisons with other stores based on multiple criteria (such as sales level, store size, and community type) in addition to year-to-year trending information.

ABACUS also provides valuable information that is used to formulate ABA's education curriculum, offered free to member booksellers at BookExpo America, the Winter Institute, and other venues.

The study experienced a sharp decline in participation in 2007 and 2008, after three years of steady increases.

Urging more booksellers to participate in the survey, ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz said, "To ensure the continued viability of ABACUS, we need to see a significant increase in the number of businesses submitting data to this year's survey. The reliability of the study's overall results and our ability to provide in-depth analysis depend on the number of participants."

Domnitz also encouraged booksellers to submit their information as soon as they can. "We want to be able to get reports back to booksellers quickly, and receiving a wave of surveys right before the closing date really impairs our ability to do that," he explained.

Completing the easy-to-use ABACUS Survey form takes about an hour. An Excel spreadsheet allows booksellers to organize the information from their financial statements so that it matches the categories on the ABACUS form. All information provided to the ABACUS study is kept strictly confidential.

The deadline for submission of data for the 2009 survey is Friday, August 15.

Booksellers with questions about the survey should contact Domnitz or David Walker ABA's industry consultant.