Profile: New ABA Board Member Cathy Langer

Cathy Langer

Cathy Langer, one of the two new members of the ABA Board of Directors, first joined the staff of Denver's venerable Tattered Cover Book Store in 1977. A friend suggested the job for Langer, who wanted to work briefly before attending law school. She promised the small store's owner, Joyce Meskis, that she would stay for at least a year. Although a year "seemed like forever to a 22-year-old," she applied. She was hired by Meskis, whose small store has now grown into two stores, at over 30,000-square-feet each, with a third, at 22,000-square-feet, scheduled to open before year's end.

"My entire adult life has been at Tattered Cover," Langer, the store's current buyer told BTW, "except for a few years in the mid-'80s when my children were little."

Over the last two decades, Langer has been very involved with the Colorado Center for the Book (www.coloradocenterforthebook.org), and she was one of the founders of the Rocky Mountain Book Festival, which is currently on hiatus. Langer served on the board of the Mountains and Plains Booksellers Association (MPBA) and served as its president for a term.

At the October 2003 MPBA Trade Show, Langer was named the Gordon Saull Bookseller of the Year and awarded a $300 prize to be presented to any organization the winner chooses. Langer, who told BTW that she considers the fight against the USA Patriot Act and censorship to be key ABA issues, opted to give the prize money to the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE). "The public policy aspect of the ABA is very important to me," she said, "ABFFE is near and dear to us at Tattered Cover."

Langer continued, "My main focuses are the same as they were with Mountains and Plains -- professional education -- it's critical for independents to have as many good working tools as possible to make good decisions. ABA is moving in the right direction -- encouraging new booksellers and discussing fiscal responsibility."

Langer's experience with the ABA Board has thus far been very positive, she said. "I love that the booksellers on the board and staff are such smart, great people. [Being a Board member] also affords me the opportunity to visit other stores around the country and that is always a great opportunity. Besides, my kids are out of the house. So, the dog misses me, and my husband misses me."

After her first day on the job at Tattered Cover, Langer knew this was exactly where she wanted to be and this was exactly what she wanted to do. "[Working with Joyce Meskis] -- who wouldn't want to do that?" --Nomi Schwartz