I’m currently following the story on the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) that comes into effect on February 10 ’09 to see if it will impact children’s books or not:

From Publishers Weekly:

CPSIA FAQs

• The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act goes into effect February 10 and requires third-party testing of all products for children 12 and under, including books, audiobooks and sidelines. This includes older products on-shelf as well as books shipped after the deadline.

• AAP and other industry trade groups are lobbying to have print-on-paper and print-on-board books exempted. They also are looking for clarification on testing protocols and other specifics.

• If the Act stands as currently written and interpreted, significant costs and longer production times will negatively affect publishers and retailers, potentially putting some out of business and causing books to be removed from stores, libraries and schools.

• The industry is struggling to comply with the Act in time for the deadline, even as it waits for resolution and interpretation from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

For the latest updates and clarifications, go to www.cpsc.gov/about/Cpsia/cpsia.html.

-Industry Scrambling to Comply with Child Safety Act
By Karen Raugust — Publishers Weekly

UPDATES:

Jan 15, ’09 article on Publishers Weekly.

February 7th ’09 article on Publishers Weekly

February 9th ’09 article on Publishers Weekly