IndieCommerce

One of the key features of IndieBound.org is "Shop Local Online," which directs book buyers to the website of a bookstore near them. Books featured on the Indie Next List, the Indie Bestseller Lists, and elsewhere on the site include links for consumers to buy the book. Click on one of these links, enter your zip code, and you'll be presented with some online shopping options near you.

The ABA E-Commerce Solution's beta test of its new open-source platform has been extended, and its release is now scheduled for sometime in early 2009. Over the last year, the ABA E-Commerce Solution has been migrating to Drupal, a content management system that will provide more robust administrative tools, greater system stability, and the ability to roll out new features more quickly.

The American Booksellers Association's plans to conduct E-Commerce Solution Users Group meetings at each of the fall regional booksellers association trade shows have changed.E-Commerce Users Group sessions scheduled for the September shows have been canceled or replaced with other sessions, as ABA staff works to complete the migration of E-Commerce sites to the Drupal open source platform. Booksellers are directed to regional trade show schedules for details about replacement programming.

Readers looking to connect with authors can now find events at indie bookstores participating in ABA's E-Commerce Solution on BookTour, the website founded by Chris Anderson, Kevin Smokler, and Adam Goldstein.

Over the past few months, the ABA E-Commerce Solution has been undergoing a major overhaul. The site is migrating to the open-source platform Drupal, which will provide users with new and improved administrative tools, better performance and reliability, and a shorter path to new features and functionality. The new open-source platform is scheduled for fall 2008 release.

The ABA E-Commerce Solution is offering participating bookstores promotional downloads for Scholastic's The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Random House's Brisingr by Christopher Paolini. Scholastic has made the first chapter of The Hunger Games -- expected to be a big fall title -- available for posting to the websites of all participating ABA E-Commerce Solution stores.

Inventory uploads now free With the launch of IndieBound last Thursday at BookExpo America, the Book Sense marketing program has been replaced with a program that's more of a movement than a marketing campaign, and this means changes for the BookSense.com program. First and foremost, BookSense.com is not part of IndieBound, and it has been renamed the ABA E-commerce Solution. This will be visible in several ways:

This week, BookSense.com announced that it will be providing MyHound.com, a new service that gives users customized entertainment alerts on demand, with an events feed from all BookSense.com participating stores. The events will be listed on MyHound.com and will have links back to bookstores' websites.

This week, BookSense.com announced that it will be providing LibraryThing, the popular cataloguing and social networking website for bibliophiles, with an events feed from all BookSense.com member stores. The events will be listed on LibraryThing Local, the place where LibraryThing members go to add their favorite bookstores, connect with friends, and keep track of interesting book-related events.

ABA's gift card and e-commerce programs will be the focus of staff-led users group meetings on Friday, May 30, at BookExpo America. Participants, and those who are new to each of the programs, are invited to join in meetings at the L.A. Convention Center, where they'll hear about the latest program developments, as well as have a chance to share tips and tricks with fellow booksellers.