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CPSIA: The Year in Review
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 has been in the news all year, and December is no exception, as the Consumer Product Safety Commission is scheduled to vote imminently on some key issues that will affect children’s book publishers. While the industry continues to await that ruling, Emily Sheketoff, executive director of the ALA's Washington office, was scheduled to meet with CPSC head Inez Tenenbaum on Thursday.
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Sourcebooks Adds Teen Imprint
Chicagoland-headquartered Sourcebooks announced Tuesday that it will launch a young adult imprint in spring 2010. In its debut season the imprint, called Sourcebooks Fire, will release seven titles, including a bestselling paranormal romance series from the U.K., a novel based on the true-life story of teenage sisters who invented the séance in 1848, a romantic mystery set against the backdrop of the Civil War, and a YA supernatural thriller set in New York City...
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CPSIA: The Waiting Game Continues for Libraries
Children's librarians are still waiting for resolution on how, specifically, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act will affect them. The Consumer Products Safety Commission recently issued a final lead rule that deemed many - but not all - of the components in ordinary children's books safe. At the same time, it reiterated its belief that books printed before 1986 potentially could contain lead, leaving libraries to wonder for a bit longer about what they should do with their older holdings...
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CPSIA Update: Progress, But Still Some Loose Ends
Several provisions of the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act went into effect on August 14, 2009. As that deadline approached and on the heels of the confirmation of new CPSC head Inez Tenenbaum, the Commission issued guidance on a raft of unresolved issues, some affecting publishers.
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CPSC Issues Policy Statement on CPSIA Tracking Labels
The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued its long-awaited statement of policy on the tracking labels required for all manufacturers of children's products, under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. New chairman Inez Tenenbaum, as well as commissioners Thomas Moore and Nancy Nord, voted on Monday to approve the guidelines, which allow publishers to be flexible in how they comply with the provision.
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New CPSC Head Promises to Make CPSIA a Priority
Last Friday's Senate confirmation of Inez Tenenbaum as the new head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission has given many in the publishing industry hope that some of the issues surrounding the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act may finally be resolved. In her prepared remarks before the U.S. Senate’s Commerce Committee on June 16, Tenenbaum noted that the implementation of the Act will be her highest priority.
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No Stay on CPSIA-Mandated Tracking Labels
Late last week, the two current members of the Consumer Products Safety Commission denied a request from children’s products industries to grant a stay of enforcement on the tracking label provision of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.
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CPSIA Update: Still Waiting
Publishers, librarians and others in the children’s book industry are still waiting for resolution on a number of questions that will determine how they can comply with the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act(CPSIA).
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Lande Named Klutz Publisher
Debra Lande, formerly with Chronicle Books, has been appointed publisher of Klutz.
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CPSIA Update: Book Community Calmer and Compliant, But Still Confused
A little over a month after the first key provisions of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act went into effect things have calmed down significantly. New and used booksellers, libraries and publishers continue to lobby Congress and the Consumer Products Safety Council for an exemption for books, and they are still confused about many of the Act’s provisions. In the meantime, however, they have taken steps to comply.
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The Good Old Days
We asked some industry veterans to share memories of what publishing was like “back in the day."
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CPSIA Enforcement Waived for Post-1985 Books
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has outlined its enforcement policy for the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. While consumer products for children 12 and under cannot contain more than 600 parts per million of lead in any accessible part, the Commission said it would “not impose penalties against anyone for making, importing, distributing or selling” a list of specified products, including “an ordinary children’s book printed after 1985.”
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CPSIA Stay Provides Relief But Not Reform
Last Friday’s one-year stay of enforcement of the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act of 2008 has caused many in the publishing industry to breathe a sigh of relief. Even with only about a week left until the testing and certification provisions of the Act were to kick in, many publishers were still struggling to figure out how to comply without costs becoming dangerously high.
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CPSC Delays Enforcement of CPSIA Testing Requirements for One Year
On Friday, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Comission approved a one-year “stay of enforcement” for certain testing and certification requirements for manufacturers and importers of products for children 12 and under, including books, as dictated by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008. At the same time, however, the products must still be “safe,” as per the Act’s requirements, starting on February 10, 2009.
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The 2008 Cuffies
For our annual “Off the Cuff” awards, we asked retailers for their picks in a variety of categories. The winners (and selected bookseller comments) appear below.
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The Very Latest on CPSIA and Books
The children’s book industry continues to intensify its efforts to push for an exemption from the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act. The Act, which goes into effect February 10, requires all products for children 12 and under—including books—to be tested for lead.
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Eeyore's Alums Look Back
Camilla Corcoran, now a national account manager with HarperCollins Children’s Books, recently attended a reunion with her former co-workers at Eeyore’s Books for Children in New York City, to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the store’s closing.
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WestSide Books Prepares for Its Debut
Come spring 2009, there will be a new player in the world of YA fiction: WestSide Books will publish its first list starting next February.
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Kids' Stores Grow Up
The 1970s and '80s saw a burgeoning of children's specialty bookstores. Many started small. In fact, the first location for Booktenders Secret Garden in Doylestown, Pa., was so tiny that author/illustrator Stephen Kellogg dubbed it “the enchanted closet,” recalls owner Ellen Mager. She bought the store, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, after it had been open only...
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