Technology

The IndieBound movement is growing ... in bookstores and other independent retailers nationwide, online at IndieBound.org, and now on the social networking site Facebook.

Above the Treeline announced today that on November 1 it would begin field-testing Edelweiss, a new online, interactive catalog product. The test will include publishers and booksellers and will last for six months, at which time the company plans to release the next version of the application for wider rollout.

Booksellers interested in participating in, or learning more about, the Booksellers Print-to-Order (PTO) Publishing Program, launched by the American Booksellers Association and Applewood Books in July, can now find answers to frequently asked questions as well as a letter of agreement on BookWeb.org.

This week, the American Booksellers Association announced a partnership with Applewood Books that will enable ABA member booksellers to publish out-of-print books on demand. The new program will provide participating booksellers with the ability to publish any title that is in the public domain or any book, such as a local interest title, whose rights have reverted to the author and to sell it at margins from 50 to 75 percent.

The Pew Internet & American Life Project reports that 62 percent of American adults have either accessed the Internet wirelessly or have used hand-held devices for such applications as texting and e-mail, which is not surprising given that of the estimated 150 million laptops sold in 2007 most have wireless capabilities. And, soon, mobile computer users will be checking e-mail and surfing the web wirelessly during American Airline flights and, in 2009, in Chrysler cars and trucks.

This week, HarperCollins Publishers announced plans to introduce an interactive, online sales catalog that would offer up-to-date title information, including jackets, add-ons, and author interviews, while reducing the publishers' paper output and overall carbon footprint. HarperCollins will preview the catalog at BookExpo America and expects to launch a beta version in six to 12 months.

In about one week, Northshire Bookstore in Manchester Center, Vermont, expects to officially launch its in-store Print-on-Demand publishing service. The focal point of the new service is the Espresso Book Machine (EBM), an on-site fully integrated book-making machine that can produce a high-quality, trade-size paperback book in minutes.

By Len Vlahos, ABA Chief Program Officer The weather in New York on February 11 and 12 went from sub-zero wind chills, to snow and sleet, to driving, soaking rain. But inside the Marriott Marquis in Time Square, at the O'Reilly Media "Tools of Change" Conference, it was all sunshine and light.

Hot topics at this month's National Retail Federation Convention & Expo included consumer advocacy, customer satisfaction and loyalty, and the role technology will play in the store of the future. Last week, BTW looked at "Harness the Chaos in Today's Connected World," a session featuring author Daniel Pink (A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, Riverhead) and Fred Balboni of IBM Global Business Services Store of the Future.

As part of its Save the Book Review Campaign and overall mission to promote book discussion, the National Book Critics Circle [NBCC] held a symposium, "The Age of Infinite Margins: Book Critics Face the 21st Century," last week in New York City.