Simba Information

The abrupt resignation of the CEO of Barnes & Noble is raising questions about the future of the only remaining national bookstore chain in a digital age.

Media forecast and research firm Simba Information has released the 2013 edition of “Trends in Digital and Trade Book Retailing.” This new report, which compiles data from proprietary surveys and additional sources to study the print and digital book retailing business

After decades of decline, independent bookselling has become a growth industry. For the fourth year in a row, membership has increased in the American Bookseller Association, the independent stores' trade group. According to CEO Oren Teicher, the association now includes 1,632 members , some operating in multiple locations , up 65 from last year. In 2009, there were 1,401 members and strong pessimism in the face of superstore chains, the online power of Amazon.com and the recent financial crisis.

Teicher notes the liquidation of Borders in 2011, but also credits the ongoing "buy local" movement and independents' growing comfort

After decades of decline, independent bookselling has become a growth industry.

For the fourth year in a row, membership has increased in the American Bookseller Association, the independent stores' trade group. According to CEO Oren Teicher, the association now includes 1,632 members — some operating in multiple locations — up 65 from last year. In 2009, there were 1,401 members and strong pessimism in the face of superstore chains, the online power of Amazon.com and the recent financial crisis.

Simba Information, the market research firm specializing in publishing and media, has released the fifth edition of its Trade E-Book Publishing report series, which has closely followed the digital book market since 2009.

The implementation of Common Core State Standards in school districts and the looming new assessments associated with the standards and the obsolescence of many of the textbooks currently used in classrooms are combining to fuel demand for new curriculum materials in 2013, according to the 2012 National Textbook Adoption Scorecard and 2013 Outlook, the new strategic education market report from Simba Information.

Until the transaction is closed (likely late 2013 pending regulatory approval), official news about the Random House Penguin venture is expected to be scarce. And yet questions abound. Why did two of the biggest players in book publishing throw in their lot together? Will further contraction occur in its wake? Will this give the new entity more leverage in its negotiations with mighty Amazon? And if so, will it be enough to matter? We rang up four industry experts and asked them what—if anything—it all means for publishers and publishing.

As we all know, the new norm is that in the next week there will be recorded a big surge in purchases in ebook reading hardware (including tablets, which are not just for reading). This will be followed, of course, by a surge in purchases of ebooks. But what about between the surges? What’s the new level of purchase? The assumption is certainly that each surge builds on itself to increase the overall level of ebook use and purchase… is this true?

Before this surge hits, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at just a couple of the countless reporting of statistics and opinions; and also at something that might have a big post-surge impact.

Simba Information’s new report out this week is titled “The iPad and Its Owner 2013.” But given its findings—including that 1 in 5 U.S. adults owns an iPad, along with projections that within five years tablet owners will outnumber print book buyers—it might have been called “The Rise of the Machines.”

Simba Information, the market research firm specializing in publishing and media, has published an addendum to its recently released "Trade E-Book Publishing 2012" report. In addition to showing an updated list of e-book hardware trends, the data indicates that about 24.5% of U.S. adults consider themselves to be e-book users, up from about 17.2% the year before; the sudden rise may be due to consumers buying the runaway bestselling series 50 Shades of Gray.