November 20, 2001 ABA to Introduce Electronic Book Buyer’s Handbook New Product Will Offer Expanded, Updated Information in Fully Searchable Database As part of a new initiative to significantly improve the delivery of an expanded range of business-related information to members, ABA is currently developing a fully searchable version of the Book Buyer's Handbook accessible via the Internet. The project was approved by the ABA Board at its recent meeting in Santa Cruz, California, where the Board also voted in favor of the digital delivery of a more timely and expanded Bookselling This Week. Under the new plan, the information that was formerly only available to members in print--and which often was out of date for many company entries before the book was reprinted--will now be available in a searchable electronic format. Importantly, the electronic version of the Book Buyer's Handbook will allow ABA to provide booksellers with up-to-date information on publishers' special offers and promotions--including special co-op offers that run for limited periods of time. These special offers will be prominently noted when booksellers log on to the electronic Book Buyer's Handbook, and the homepage of the Handbook will automatically generate a table of publisher names with recent updates. "A cornerstone of the ABA strategic plan is the delivery of the timely and accurate business information that all booksellers need. The new electronic Book Buyer's Handbook will not only allow us to include all changing terms as soon as we learn of them, but, in addition, we will now be able to provide booksellers with the crucially important information on special publisher offers," said ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz. "We're very much looking forward to working closely with publishers to make this the best product possible," he said. "The information that was made public during the law suit against the chains showed us all the range of special terms that independent booksellers were not learning about. With the electronic Book Buyer's Handbook, ABA wants to work to make sure that our bookstore members have access to the most timely information. One key way to ensure a level playing field will be to enable all bookstores to have access to all terms of sale," said Neal Coonerty, ABA president. ABA's editorial staff will be establishing a number of new procedures to obtain and update the information in the electronic Book Buyer's Handbook. Among the steps will be a monthly e-mail reminder to all publishers in the publication's database asking for new information about such things as stock offers and changing terms, and publishers will be encouraged to contact ABA as well. To facilitate this interaction, publishers will be able to visit a special Web page, where they can view their companies' current information and submit changes as necessary. This area will be password protected and accessible only to those authorized by the publisher. Because of the new electronic Book Buyer's Handbook's accuracy, breadth, and timeliness, ABA will be working to encourage members to access the new product as quickly as possible after its introduction this spring. However, the association is also exploring options for a print-on-demand hardcopy version. Current plans call for it to be available to members at cost. Editorial work has begun, and publishers will begin hearing from ABA regarding the Book Buyer's Handbook in December.   Topics: About ABA, Resources, News - Bookselling,