Working Titlez

Book production is up . . . and down. Bowker, the international agency that issues ISBNs and tracks publishing statistics reports in Publishers Weekly that traditionally published book production fell 3% in 2008, down to 275,232 titles. Meanwhile, on-demand and short run digital production is up a whopping 132% to 285,394 titles. On-demand and short run printing is the production method of choice for self-publishers. Thus publishing growth is attributed primarily to authors publishing their own works, mostly through publishing services companies like Xlibris, AuthorHouse etc. These books, which are rarely stocked in bookstores sell, on average, less than 99 copies total. Although the growth in the production method is substantial, the growth in book sales is not. With major New York houses cutting or eliminating acquisitions of new titles in the past six months, and national chains like Borders and B&N putting moratoriums on new inventory purchases, book publishing has been turned upside down. I’m not sure this is necessarily a bad thing. In the past five years, the growth of new titles published in the United States has exploded. Sadly, the number of readers buying new books has not, resulting in massive numbers of unsold books ending their short unread lives in landfills or recycling centers. Perhaps a better balance between books published and buyers ready to buy them will be an odd beneficial result of the economic meltdown.

Q: Do children’s books contain lead?

A: Very little.

Carolyn being interviewed by KVBC Channel 3 News on the issues surrounding the lead in children's books requirements of the new Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act.

The Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) goes into effect on Tuesday, February 10, 2009. Administered by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, it oversees all products intended for children 12 and younger, including toys, clothing and books.

Brought about by public outcry over the lead-tainted toys and impure baby formula from China, the Act is broad in requirements to protect children. Perhaps overly broad.

The new requirements prohibit more than 600 ppm of lead in children’s products (dropping to 300 ppm in August). Independent third party testing by approved laboratories is required of every product.

Children’s books, which consist of ink on paper or ink on board, typically test out at less than 5 ppm, considerably under the 600/300 ppm threshold. From the publisher’s perspective, books should be exempt. The testing is prohibitively expensive, and for small publishers, financially impossible to implement.

The American Association of Publishers (AAP) and the Small Publishers Association of North America (SPAN) have led the way in providing documentation to the Commission supporting an exemption.

At Stephens Press, we’ve supported these efforts to educate public officials on the justification for the exemption. We’ve acquired component testing (ink, paper, film) from our manufacturers. All components fall into the 2 to 5 ppm range. General Certificate of Compliance documentation has been provided to our distributors and retailers such as Borders and Barnes & Noble.

The Commission has just implemented a one year “exemption of enforcement” of the product testing requirement. Products must still meet the lead requirements, but the testing of products can be delayed. It is our expectation that an exemption will be acquired within the year.

We all know babies and young children chew on everything, and we certainly want and expect toys and children’s products to be safe and lead-free. Fortunately, children’s books are not a risk.