About ABA

The second day of the 2007 ABA Winter Institute featured lots more education, peer networking, and even some breaking news about the importance of independent retailing to Main Street America.

The eight-hour-plus schedule included nine educational panels, a breakfast session where booksellers joined in the planning process for the next ABA strategic plan, more rep picks of upcoming adult and children's trade titles, and a "New Media Lunch," which looked at the pervasive effects of digitalization on the book world.

The American Booksellers Association's 2007 Winter/Spring Booksellers Forum tour will start in the Southeast on Thursday, February 22. The forum, organized in conjunction with the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA), will be held at Alabama Booksmith in Birmingham, Alabama.

On Wednesday, January 10, ABA's new Digital Task Force (DTF) held its first meeting at the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge, in Brooklyn, New York.

The DTF is composed of 10 booksellers and industry professionals and five ABA staff members, and it is charged with looking at the myriad technical changes affecting the world of consumer book consumption, from the digitization of content to the burgeoning world of online social networking. The goal of the DTF will be to help advise ABA on devising strategies to address these issues.

Following the Democratic Party's successes in the November mid-term elections, when it secured a majority in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, the majority party has assumed leadership positions for Congressional committees. For small business owners, two key committees -- the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship and the House Small Business Committee -- have already begun to identify priorities for the 110th Congress, and committee members have introduced new legislation.

Due to the "warm welcome the book community gave to its 50th anniversary calendar," the International Booksellers Federation (IBF), a non-governmental organization of booksellers associations and booksellers from around the world, announced this week that the IBF calendar for 2008 is in preparation.

The American Booksellers Association's Board of Directors is formulating a new Strategic Plan that will guide the programs and activities of the organization for five years, beginning October 2007. To ensure that the plan meets the needs and wishes of the association's members, the board is seeking input from as many members as possible.

The American Booksellers Association has signed an agreement with Ingram Digital Ventures that will enable bookstores participating in the BookSense.com program to sell ebooks in three formats -- Palm, Adobe, and Microsoft -- beginning sometime in 2007.

This week, the American Booksellers Association sent a letter and checklist regarding the January 1, 2007, change to a 13-digit ISBN to all of its main store members. The mailing was sent via FedEx for next day delivery.

The American Booksellers Association Board of Directors is working on a new Strategic Plan that will guide the programs and activities of the association for five years, beginning October 2007. To ensure that the plan reflects the interests and wishes of the association's members, the ABA board is seeking to collect input from as many members as possible.

The American Booksellers Association has announced the winners of its 2007 Winter Institute scholarships: Lisa Sharp of Nightbird Books in Fayetteville, Arkansas; Miah Olmsted of Back to Books in Hudson, Wisconsin; and Jessica Stockton of McNally Robinson in New York City.

The American Booksellers Association is guided by a long-term strategic plan that reflects the expressed interests and wishes of the association's members. The ABA Board -- which is working on a new plan that will go into effect in October 2007 -- very much wants to hear from all ABA members.

Over the past two months, American Booksellers Association senior staff has crisscrossed the country to provide educational programming and to meet with booksellers at the nine regional association trade shows. ABA Board members were also in attendance at most of the shows to gather input from members.

Beginning in 2007, Book Sense will augment its current monthly Red and White Box programs with a series of quarterly mailings of materials specifically geared toward children's booksellers. In addition, the Book Sense Children's Picks will expand from three to four lists annually, with the creation of a new spring list.

Friday, October 27, is the deadline for American Booksellers Association members to nominate candidates to serve on the ABA Board of Directors. Any ABA member may submit the names of qualified candidates to the association's Nominating Committee, chaired by Collette Morgan of Wild Rumpus in Minneapolis.