About ABA

The American Booksellers Association recently joined the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, National Association of Convenience Stores, National Community Pharmacists Association, and the National Cooperative Grocers Association as a plaintiff in an antitrust lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court of Connecticut. The suit alleges that Visa USA Inc. and MasterCard International Inc., as well as major banks and credit-card companies, colluded to fix interchange fees.

ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz will be presenting two of the association's education seminars at the 57th Frankfurt Book Fair, which began on Wednesday, October 19, and runs through Sunday, October 23.

On October 1, a new policy went into effect regarding the payment of quarterly dues to the American Booksellers Association.

Effective when their dues next come up for renewal, Regular ABA Bookstore Members paying dues on a quarterly basis must do so through ACH transfer (electronic debit to a checking account). The association will no longer accept credit card payments for quarterly dues after that point.

Booksellers who opt to pay their dues in a single payment may still do so by credit card.

The American Booksellers Association has welcomed five new bookstores as members since August. In addition, a new member store opened at the end of June and another in July, bringing to seven the total number of new stores opening in July. (For other July store openings, go to news.bookweb.org/read/3714).

The Alphabet Garden (October)
132 Elm Ct.
Cheshire, CT 06410
(203) 439-7766

As a helpful reminder, here is a "Three-Month Bookseller Action List" highlighting important dates related to ABA/Book Sense programs and events for the period October through December 2005. The list may also be downloaded in PDF format.

The American Booksellers Association's Board of Directors and senior staff met from Wednesday, September 28, through Friday, September 30, in Chicago.

During the meeting, the ABA Board:

ABA member booksellers can now register for ABA's first annual Winter Education Institute, to be held on Thursday, January 26, and Friday, January 27, 2006, in Long Beach, California. Open to all ABA member booksellers -- owners and staff -- and free of charge, the Institute's comprehensive program includes all of ABA's education sessions from this past June's BookExpo America, as well as two new sessions developed in response to bookseller input gathered through ABA's 2006 Education Survey.

On Tuesday, September 20, the Bookseller Relief Fund (BRF) Board convened via conference call to establish administrative guidelines and a process for distribution of monies from the fund, which was established by ABA in response to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

BookExpo America and wholesalers Baker & Taylor and Ingram Book Company have become the first sponsors of ABA's inaugural Winter Education Institute, to be held on Thursday, January 26, and Friday, January 27, 2006, in Long Beach, California.

As news stories about the death, suffering, and destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina are replaced by accounts of the early steps the public and private sectors are taking toward reconstruction, the book industry, too, continued its initiatives to assist Gulf Coast residents affected by the storm.

Booksellers should note that the voting period for the inaugural Quill Awards ends today, September 15. However, there are still a few days left for ABA member booksellers who have been encouraging consumers to vote to participate in a random drawing to win a trip to the red carpet awards ceremony to be held in October in New York City.

To create a 2006 education program that meets the needs of membership, the American Booksellers Association is asking booksellers for their input through an online survey, accessible through the BookWeb homepage or directly at www.bookweb.org/read/7981.

In a piece on coping with the effects of disaster in today's issue of Bookselling This Week, Neal Coonerty encourages those dealing with disaster to "accept contributions ... and help."