NACS Media Solutions, the new digital content delivery venture founded by the National Association of College Stores, has a partner and seven test stores that will begin using the service "over the next few months," Campus Marketplace reported. Some 20 or 30 more are expected to be added in the spring.
NACS Media Solutions aims to be an "electronic hub" between college stores and content suppliers, allowing stores to provide any type of content in any format that students or faculty require on a range of platforms. Content will include textbooks, trade books, coursepacks, audiobooks, music, movies and more. Platforms will encompass the Internet, mobile devices, POD, e-readers, course management systems, point-of-sale systems and kiosks.
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It may not solve the Golden State's budget woes, but Barnes & Noble and the state of California formally ended their dispute over online sales tax collection, the Sacramento Bee reported. B&N has paid California $9 million and dropped a suit while the state Board of Equalization has canceled two tax determinations against B&N.com that totaled $17 million, including interest and penalties. The board also waived all claims dating up to November 1, 2005, when B&N.com began collecting sales tax on sales to people in California.
The impetus for making B&N.com collect sales tax came from the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association and several booksellers, who in 1999 began speaking with the Board of Equalization about the issue. They argued that by virtue of the many B&N stores in California,
B&N.com has the required nexus to collect sales tax on sales made
to the state. Commenting on the resolution of the matter, NCIBA executive director Hut Landon told Bookselling This Week: "That's one more competitive disadvantage for indies that's been taken off the board."
B&N.com now collects sales tax in all states that have sales tax.
By contrast, the argument used in the effort
in New York State to have Amazon.com collect sales tax is that the onlne retailer's
affiliates based or with offices in New York create the necessary nexus.
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In its Big City column, the New York Times has a big story about Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, her dream of opening a bookstore in Brooklyn, N.Y., and the party held on Tuesday by the Fort Greene Indie Bookstore Initiative. Check out the large accompanying photograph, which includes Christine Onorati, owner of WORD bookstore, Sean Concannon of Parson Weems and Toby Cox, owner of Three Lives & Co. bookstore.
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The first debate between Senators Barack Obama and John McCain takes place next Friday, September 26, in Oxford, Miss., a town best known in the industry as the home of fabled Square Books (and of a late Nobel Prize-winning author).
For the many locals who won't be able to attend the debate in person, the proceeds will be screened on the side of the courthouse, Richard Howorth, owner of Square Books and mayor of Oxford, told BTW. "People can bring lawn chairs and watch it together. The courthouse sits right here in the town square that was prominent in so many of the fictional works of William Faulkner."
Square Books manager Lyn Roberts said that the store has been offering a full range of political books and "we'll change the windows to reflect the debates." The store is also hanging red, white and blue bunting. Next week the Square Books is also screening Out of the Book's newest film, State by State.
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As noted here yesterday, children's book author Eoin Colfer will write a sixth book in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by the late Douglas Adams. Colfer's book, called And Another Thing . . . , will be published in the U.S. by Hyperion in October 2009.
In a statement, Colfer, author of the Artemis Fowl series, said he considers the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy "like nothing I had read before, or since for that matter. It is a slice of satirical genius. A marvel of quantum tomfoolery. A dissection of the absurdities of our human condition. A space odyssey that forces us to face ourselves and collapse in hysterics . . . My first reaction was semi-outrage that anyone should be allowed to tamper with this incredible series. But on reflection, I realized that this is a wonderful opportunity to work with characters I have loved since childhood and give them something of my own voice while holding on to the spirit of Douglas Adams. I am bloody determined that this will be the best thing I have ever written."
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Emerson College's Berkeley Beacon
highlighted "Boston's bangin' bookstores," noting, "There are at least
five Barnes & Noble Bookstores within a 10-mile radius of Emerson
College, one of which boasts its banner at 114 Boylston St. as
Emerson's textbook hot spot. But, while Emerson's Web site provides an
online bookstore for required reading, the price of convenience may not
be the most fiscally friendly. Students who venture beyond Boylston
Street will find more than their professors' picks on the shelves of
these three local businesses for less."
The indie bookstore
alternatives included Trident Booksellers & Café, "one of the last
independent mom-and-pop bookshops in Boston. Perfect for dodging the
long lines of most big-time bookstores;" Commonwealth Books, "exudes
the feel of nostalgia and history from its musty walls, tickling
nostrils with a scent reminiscent of grandma's attic;" and Brookline
Booksmith, "a cache for the modern reader."
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I'll take books for $800, Alex. Seacoastonline
reported that Cindy Schilling, an assistant librarian in Wells, Me.,
finished in second place on the September 12 episode of TV's Jeopardy
(The show had been taped in July).
"I have watched Jeopardy
since I was a young child in the 1960s," Schilling said. "It was a
fantastic experience, a childhood dream come true."
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"This
man is an author. He writes stories. He's just finished writing a
story. He thinks many people will like to read it. So, he must have the
story made into a book." Thus begins Making Books, a 1947 film classic showcased by Boing Boing.
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Effective immediately, National Book Network is distributing Blood Moon Productions, Staten Island, N.Y., which publishes "provocative biographies of the celebrities and stars from Hollywood's Golden Age." It recently released Hollywood Babylon: It's Back!
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Effective January 2, Insight Editions, San Rafael, Calif., will be distributed by PGW. Insight is a part of the Palace Publishing Group, which also owns Earth Aware Editions and Mandala Publishing. PGW already distributes those imprints. Insight publishes fine illustrated books on film, photography, arts and entertainment.
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As They Say in Zanzibar: Proverbial Wisdom from Around the World (Oxford University Press, $35, 9780195374506, September 2008) is a compilation of more than 2,000 proverbs gathered by David Crystal. He says in the foreword, "Proverbs do more than express a general truth or a universal belief. Each in its own way adds a tiny bit more to our understanding of the world's linguistic and cultural diversity, and thus helps us grasp more fully what it means to be human." From the humorous--It is not economical to go to bed early to save the candles if the result is twins (China)--to the puzzling--Brotherly love for brotherly love, but cheese for money (Albania)--the proverbs will delight and sometimes mystify, and of course, they can provide good advice: Rather once cry your heart out than always sigh (China). Open it to any page and you will find gems, like What butter or whiskey will not cure, there is no cure for (Ireland), or A kind word warms for three winters (China). As They Say in Zanzibar could be used as a discussion lead-off at the dinner table or even on a first date. What someone makes of When you are chased by a wolf you call the boar your uncle (Slovenia) could be telling; at the very least, it could be fun. 
Vicki Myron is the author with Bret Witter of Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World, which is being published by Grand Central Publishing on September 24. She was born on a farm 15 miles from Spencer, Iowa. At the age of 34, after a failed marriage, single motherhood and a stint on welfare, she graduated summa cum laude from Mankato State University. She later received a master's degree from Emporia State University. She worked at the Spencer Public Library for 25 years, the last 20 as director. She lives in Spencer.