About ABA

The American Booksellers Association's Nominating Committee, chaired by Beth Puffer of Bank Street Bookstore in New York City, is searching for qualified candidates to serve on the ABA Board of Directors. Any ABA member may submit nominations for board directors.

Nominations should be submitted as soon as possible but no later than November 9, 2007.

The American Booksellers Association's Nominating Committee, chaired by Beth Puffer of Bank Street Bookstore in New York City, is searching for qualified candidates to serve on the ABA Board of Directors.

Starting in mid-October, Bookselling This Week will be accepting .jpg and .gif banner ads from advertisers. The change in ad formats is part of a revamping of the American Booksellers Association's e-mail newsletter, also scheduled to launch in mid-October.

A group of more than 30 retailers and organizations, including the American Booksellers Association, Cody's Books, the Independent Music Retailers Association, the National Retail Federation, and a number of regional booksellers associations, have signed a letter in support of legislation that would simplify sales tax collection and provide equal treatment for local merchants and remote sellers. The letter is being sent to Representatives William J.

On Saturday, October 20, the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association (SCIBA) will hold its 2007 Author's Feast & Trade Show at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. Slated for the day- and evening-long event are opportunities to preview publishers' latest titles, meet authors, and take part in education programs.

Each year, ABA Bookstore Members in good standing may place up to four free two-week Classified Ad insertions in Bookselling This Week. BTW Classifieds are the perfect place for booksellers to place help wanted ads, advertise fixtures or stores for sale, and more.

Booksellers who are not currently members of the American Booksellers Association are invited to attend a special reception at any one of the nine fall regional shows. ABA is sponsoring the receptions to provide non-member booksellers with an opportunity to mingle with staff and representatives of the ABA Board to learn more about what the association has to offer.

This October marks the reinvention of the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA) fall trade show into a marketing conference, where the emphasis will be on providing booksellers with knowledge about the books they will be selling rather than on placing orders.

Over the first weekend in October, booksellers belonging to the Midwest Booksellers Association and the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association will be gathering at their respective trade shows to preview publishers' latest offerings, meet authors, take part in regional- and American Bookseller Association-sponsored educational programming, and more.

The last weekend in September will be a very busy one for booksellers, publishers, authors, and regional and American Booksellers Association staff. That's when the Great Lakes Booksellers Association, Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association, New England Independent Booksellers Association, and Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance will be holding their respective trade shows. Each will offer an array of regional- and ABA-sponsored educational programming, great author events, contests, and more.

The 2007 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (PNBA) Fall Trade Show will be held from Wednesday, September 19, through Friday, September 21, in Bellevue, Washington, at the Meydenbauer Center.

The American Booksellers Association will be presenting education sessions as part of the programming at each of the eight regional booksellers association fall trade shows and at the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association sales conference. Here is a first look at what's planned. In the coming weeks, BTW will feature previews of the shows, with details about the time, place, and presenters for each of the association's programs, as well as information about the ABA presence on the trade show floors and opportunities for ABA members to win prizes.

Among the new features of the American Booksellers Association's redesigned trade website, BookWeb.org, is a Booksellers Wiki.

With preparations underway for the holiday selling season, booksellers should be sure to check out ABA's Booksellers Resource Directory (BRD), a listing of vendors of non-book products and services, open to ABA bookstore, provisional, and publisher members. New listings are added or updated on a regular basis.

Though independent booksellers and independent musical-instrument retailers work in disparate industries, the two groups have common ground: They are facing intense competitive challenges from chain stores and mass merchandisers. Independent booksellers have responded with a number of initiatives -- from Shop Local movements to the Book Sense marketing program -- that have provided tools to help them compete with mega retailers.