CBA will take over the recently closed Christian Trade Association International (CTAI), which was established, ironically, when the Christian retail organization shed its overseas chapters in 2005.

"We are very saddened by Christian Trade's closing, but CBA wants to see the work continue," said CBA President Curtis Riskey. "Our desire is to maintain international services and possibly create something new."

Kim Pettit, CTAI's executive director and CEO, informed supporters in an email to Christian Retailing earlier this week that CTAI had closed.

"After much prayer and long deliberation, our board of directors made the unanimous decision to dissolve Christian Trade and its affiliated ministry Christian Trade Association International World Ministries, effective June 30," she wrote.

However, the Association for Christian Retail will now provide CTAI's members "options to continue existing memberships and benefits without charge directly with CBA," CBA officials said.

CTAI Chairman Jean-Luc Cosnard, publisher of Editions Vida in Paris, France, said CTAI's board expressed its desire to see international services continue through CBA, and all of the group's assets were transferred to the Association for Christian Retail.

"In my term as chairman of Christian Trade, I have found that CBA Chairman George Thomsen and President Curtis Riskey have shared Christian Trade's fervent desire to serve the trade, not just in the U.S., but internationally as well," Cosnard said. "As the product, pricing and distribution models in our industry continue to evolve, rather than continuing our separate efforts to serve Christian suppliers and retailers around the globe, we are passing the torch to CBA.

"We trust they will continue the good work that Christian Trade has carried out, and that our members will benefit from having a wider range of resources and services available to them in the future," Cosnard added. "Our desire has always been to see the industry grow so that more people might come to know Christ through our resources, and we believe that this consolidation is the best way to accomplish this in the future."

Pettit will work with CBA to transition international services.

"It is tough to see the association close, but I am encouraged to see the legacy of Christian Trade's late founder, Jim Powell, continued to further broad distribution of the gospel message," said Pettit.

Powell, who died of cancer last November, Powell stepped down as president of CTAI in 2011 in order to serve in Papua New Guinea.

Riskey said CBA will work to multiply what CTAI achieved by leveraging broader industry resources to benefit global distribution.

"The heart and mission of Christian Trade has been the heart and mission of CBA since its beginning," Riskey said. "Ultimately, we want to see the work that was begun brought to fruition and the Word of Jesus Christ shared throughout the world."

CTAI has members in 148 countries and national member associations in 18 nations, which will continue to operate. CTAI also has worked with other international organizations such as CLC International, Letra Viva and the United Bible Societies.

CTAI's closing will not affect the Korean Christian Rights Fair, to be held Aug. 22-23 in Seoul, South Korea, or other local chapter programs and initiatives.

Country music superstar Randy Travis underwent heart surgery Monday and is in critical condition, USA Today reported.

"We have been told he has had surgery," Travis' sister-in-law, Teresa Traywick, said in a statement. "Our prayers are going out to him because my husband just had a heart attack last year, so it is in their family. "Their mother passed away at an early age with her heart, so it is like these boys are following right in their footsteps. My prayers are with them."

Travis, 54, was at a Texas hospital after being admitted Sunday for viral cardiomyopathy, a weakening of the heart muscles caused by a viral infection, USA Today reported.

Travis was at the forefront of the "New Traditionalist" country music movement in the 1980s and 1990s, CNN reported. He made a comeback after turning to gospel music in 1999. His "Three Wooden Crosses" won Song of the Year awards from both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music in 2003.

As one of country music's top-selling artists, Travis' six inspirational albums have sold more than 2 million copies, winning seven Dove Awards and three GRAMMY Awards, according to Word Records. He has also appeared in several Christian films, including Jerusalem Countdown and The Wager.

Howard Books' Duck Commander titles are among Publishers Weekly's 20 best-selling print books for the first six months of 2013.

Released May 7, Duck Commander founder Phil Robertson's Happy, Happy, Happy was ranked No. 10 on the list, with The Duck Commander Family trailing at No. 20.

Released in October 2012, The Duck Commander Family was written by Willie Robertson, who serves as CEO of Duck Commander and Buck Commander, and his wife, Korie—daughter of former Howard Books Publisher John Howard, who also now works at the company. The book recently reached a milestone with more than 500,000 copies in print.

"The Robertson family—the colorful, supremely bearded Louisiana family behind the Duck Dynasty TV phenomenon—is selling print books at a rate to keep up with their duck calls," Publishers Weekly said. 

Duck Dynasty features the Robertson family, who transformed their home-grown, duck-call business in Louisiana into a multimillion-dollar sporting empire, while staying grounded in faith and family values. The show has spawned a plethora of popular Duck Commander line of products, as well as the best-selling books.

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young (Thomas Nelson) was ranked No. 5 on Publishers Weekly's best-selling print books for January-June, based on data from Nielsen BookScan.

There were no Christian titles among the 20 digital books on Publishers Weekly's best-selling Kindle e-books for the first six months of 2013.

For more information on the best-selling books of 2013, visit http://www.publishersweekly.com/.

In another sign of a changing Christian retail industry, the Christian Trade Association International (CTAI) has closed.

"After much prayer and long deliberation, our board of directors made the unanimous decision to dissolve Christian Trade and its affiliated ministry Christian Trade Association International World Ministries, effective June 30," Kim Pettit, CTAI's executive director and CEO, wrote in an email to supporters.

She added that "because negotiations were still in progress" during last month's International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) in St. Louis, the move wasn't announced at that time.

"We hoped that we would find a solution to allow the ministry to carry on," Pettit said. "We also wanted to be respectful of the investment you made in coming to ICRS, allowing the focus of the show to remain on your business and ongoing relationships with others in the trade. ... Nevertheless, Christian Trade is closing, and letters to members and member nations will be issued this week."

CTAI founder Jim Powell, who died of cancer last November in Queensland, Australia, established the association when CBA shed its overseas chapters in 2005. Powell stepped down as president of CTAI in 2011 in order to serve as a mission-station guest house manager with his wife, Peggy, in Papua New Guinea for Wycliffe Bible Translators. Pettit took over for Powell after he resigned.

CTAI hosted an annual international celebration event and the International Marketsquare section at the exhibit floor of CBA's summer show, providing a meeting point for those doing international business.

In 2008, CTAI debuted Marketsquare International, an annual January show providing a one-stop North American buying opportunity for overseas visitors in the absence of CBA's canceled winter show. CTAI also staged other events, including its annual Korea Christian Rights Fair in August in Seoul, South Korea.

Despite being heavy technology users, most young Americans still read and borrow printed books from libraries, according to a new survey.

The most recent poll by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, released last month, found that three-quarters (75%) of young adults ages 16-29 said they have read at least one book in print in the past year, compared with 64% of adults 30 and older.

"Younger Americans' reading habits and library use are still anchored by the printed page," said Kathryn Zickuhr, a research analyst at the Pew Research and co-author of the report. "Some of this stems from the demands of school or work, yet some likely lies in their current personal preferences. And this group's priorities and expectations for libraries likewise reflect a mix of traditional and technological services."

Americans under 30 are just as likely as older adults to visit the library, and once there, they borrow print books and browse the shelves at similar rates, the survey found. Large majorities of those under age 30 said it is "very important" for libraries to have librarians as well as books for borrowing, and few think that libraries should automate most library services, move most services online or move print books out of public areas.

Other findings of the survey included: 60% of younger patrons say they go to the library to study, sit and read or watch or listen to media—significantly more than the 45% of older patrons who do this; 38% of Americans under 30 have used computers and the Internet at libraries in the past year, compared with 22% of those ages 30 and older; and almost half (48%) of Americans ages 16-29 have ever visited a library website, compared with 36% of those adults 30 and older.

In the late-2012 survey of 2,252 Americans ages 16 and older, the report found that more than nine in 10 young adults under 30 owned a cell phone, with the majority owning a smartphone; some 16% owned an e-reader; and 25% owned a e-tablet.

For more information on the survey, visit http://libraries.pewinternet.org/.

Baker Academic/Baker Publishing Group and Wm. B. Eerdmans titles have been honored with 2013 Catholic Press Awards.

First Corinthians by Pheme Perkins (Baker Academic), which explains the theological meaning in 1 Corinthians by tracing its use of rhetorical strategies, was awarded first place in the Scripture category.

Mary's Song, written by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Stephen Alcorn (Wm. B. Eerdmans), a rendering of the story of Jesus' birth, was awarded first place in the Children's Books/Teens category.

The awards were presented by the Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada. A full list of winners can be found at www.catholicpress.org.

Choice Books hosted a reception at last month's International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) to celebrate 50 years in business.

"We give thanks to God for his faithfulness in leading Choice Books these past 50 years and fondly remember the four founders who cast the original vision that continues to inspire and motivate us today," CEO John Bomberger told Christian Retailing.

"Choice Books has a rich history of dedicated, hard-working staff committed to sharing God's love through books and many strong partnerships with publishers and retailers who have helped Choice Books fulfill its mission and purpose over the years," Bomberger added. "We say thanks to all our partners and give God the glory for our collective work together."

Held June 24 at the Ramada Plaza Downtown in St. Louis, the reception drew nearly 80 representatives from various publisher partners "for a time of fellowship and reflection on the past 50 years," the company said.

Started in 1962, Choice Books has made major inroads in general market distribution of Christian books, selling more than 5 million faith-based titles in 2012 through more than 12,000 kiosks at supermarkets, highway rest stops, drugstores, department stores and airports, company officials said.

The vision for Choice Books began in the late 1950s and the early 1960s when Mark Martin of Harrisonburg, Va.; Eugene Garber of Kalona, Iowa; Norman Martin of Chambersburg, Pa.; and Orrin Eichelberger of Canton, Ohio, began selling inspirational books to local stores.

Based in Harrisonburg, Va., the company now has seven regional distributors and more than 250 employees.

During the ICRS reception, six publishers were presented with an engraved book clock and recognized for significant sales in their longtime partnership with Choice Books: Moody Publishers; Baker Books/Baker Publishing Group; HarperCollins Christian Publishing (Zondervan and Thomas Nelson); Tyndale House Publishers; Harvest House Publishers; and Barbour Publishing.

Choice Books purchased books from more than 90 publishers last year. For more information, visit choicebooks.org.