In his president's report at the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association fall conference in Baltimore, Md., held earlier this week, Joe Drabyak of Chester County Book Company, West Chester, Pa., drew a parallel to Henry V addressing the troops before the Battle of Agincourt: " 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.' We've weathered as a band of brothers a hard year as booksellers and as publishers. We must counsel each other and build community together."
Still, the band seemed hopeful: there were 200 booksellers from 72 bookstores in attendance, which held from past years. The association has 142 bookstore members and 67 publisher members. Ads were slightly down for the NAIBA catalogue; however it now includes staff picks from regional booksellers with notations. One new project is NAIBA Notables, which Drabyak said is not intended to replace the Indie Next list but rather to highlight "special homegrown elements" of the region, especially local authors.
During the "Morning Show," Mark LaFramboise of Politics & Prose, Washington, D.C., Susan Weis of breathe books, Baltimore, Md., and Jonathan Welch of Talking Leaves, Buffalo, N.Y., who was "not John Mutter," as Welch pointed out during his introduction [Editor's note: lucky man!], gave an overview of the industry in 60 minutes--with special guests and commercial breaks. Super Bowl ad-caliber highlights included Helmuth Sales Rep of the Year Tim Hepp dressed as Satan to promote John Connolly's The Gates (S&S) and Joe Drabyak and Susan Weis demonstrating the "eat" in "Eat. Sleep. Read." with an authorless event to create chocolate espresso pound cake from Anne Byrn's The Cake Mix Doctor Returns (Workman). Drabyak said he tried to get Weis to dress up as a nurse; she said, "I didn't know it was for the show." Cake samples were consumed at the conclusion.
Special guest Kristen McLean, executive director of the Association of Booksellers for Children noted:
- Children's books have grown almost every year since 2002, and are up 11% this year.
- The only exception to that growth was in 2008, when children's paperback sales continued to rise.
- Children's books and toys appear to be recession-proof; adults will cut back for themselves but not for their children.
- Scroll Motion is about to roll out its first application for children's books for the iPod; early testing shows parents hope this will replace video games rather than actual books.
- A 2005 Cambridge University study found that today's teens are light years beyond their pre-technology counterparts in terms of literacy and that technology has played a key role in building that literacy.
Special guest Chris Finan, president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, said:
- There were 500 challenges to books in schools and libraries last year.
- First amendment issues have come up in connection with book signings by controversial authors and with police who have subpoenas for bookstore customer information.
- According to the Justice Act of 2009, the FBI can still demand records of book purchases without demonstrating evidence of criminal conduct. "We want to limit that to 'proven' terrorist conduct," Finan said.
- Congress recently banned any depiction of animal cruelty, including photos or videos, "and if you sell it you can be fined," according to Finan. Currently there's no definition of what the law deems of "serious value." Does Hemingway's Death in the Afternoon qualify?
- Finan urged booksellers to join ABFFE, which is separate from the ABA (membership is $50), and to use Banned Book Weeks as a way of "establishing a conversation with your customers and helping make them a reserve of support."
Sean Concannon from Parson Weems Publisher Services gave a bitingly good weather report: Hurricane Riggio was stalled by an Amazonian weather system originating in the Pacific Northwest. His advice, "Batten down the galleys, pump up the customer service . . . and beware of outmoded gadgetry." He also wished a happy birthday to, among others, Moravian Book Shop, celebrating 254 years; Otto Book Store at 132 years; and the Drama Bookshop at 92 years.
In a point-counterpoint debate on e-books, Mark LaFramboise introduced Jonathan Welch, "who predicts they're the end of the world," and Jenn Northington, manager at breathe books, who believes "they're not the end of the world." Northington argued that booksellers "can be a guide to the e-book world" and explain the differences between various e-readers and the Kindle. "Then you're already part of the discussion, so that when they're ready, you sell them the e-books," she reasoned. Welch said that everyone needs to remember "what gets lost in a world in which we go all-digital. Is there even a need for bookstores and publishers? The number of customers who have to have [e-books] is small. Amazon wants us to think it's bigger." Northington said she carries 10 books on her iPod: "As a book lover, what beats 10 books in your pocket?" "The feel of a book, the print on the paper, the experience of the bookshop, finding things you didn't know you were looking for," Welch responded. If you're worried about running out of reading material, he said, "Take Gravity's Rainbow." Northington countered, "We're not just selling books, we're a third place, a community hub, a place to talk, to be educated."--Jennifer M. Brown