About ABA

In the wake of the recent election, ABA President Betsy Burton writes that independent booksellers must keep doing what they always do — move forward in their own communities one step at a time.

ABA’s CEO reminds booksellers about resources for Indies First on Small Business Saturday and looks ahead to BookExpo, where changes will make it easier for booksellers to do business with publishers.

150-plus independent bookstores now offer Libro.fm digital audiobooks; CBC introduces ABA institute scholarships for publishing staff; Nominations open for National Small Business Week Awards; Ingram Academic Services to distribute Stanford University Press and University of Ottawa Press; Association of American University Presses moves central office

Nominations of qualified candidates for the ABA Board of Directors must be submitted to the Nominating Committee via a form on BookWeb.org no later than midnight EDT on October 24.

On Tuesday, Reed Exhibitions and ABA sent a letter to member booksellers detailing changes to the annual spring book industry trade show that are aimed at improving the event for the entire industry.

ABA’s reenergized social media strategy was put into play on behalf of bookstore members during last month’s Banned Books Week celebrations.

The American Booksellers Association’s Board of Directors met from September 25 – 27, 2016, in Salt Lake City, Utah, and worked on a number of issues.

Booksellers at the NAIBA Fall Conference are invited to visit ABA on the show floor, take part in an ABACUS education session, and meet one-on-one with a member of the IndieCommerce team.

Nominations of qualified candidates for the ABA Board of Directors should be sent to the ABA Nominating Committee as soon as possible but no later than October 24.

Last Saturday’s Library of Congress National Book Festival drew more than 100,000 people to the Washington, D.C., convention center, where official bookseller Politics & Prose featured 400 titles by the event’s 120 authors, poets, and illustrators.

There is still time for ABA members to nominate candidates for the association’s 2017 Board of Directors elections; self-nominations are acceptable.

ABA will be presenting two education sessions at the MPIBA trade show — “An Update on the New Localism Data and Hands-On Instruction” and “Understanding and Acting on Your ABACUS-15 Report” — as well as one-on-one IndieCommerce meetings.

Below are five stories about ABA initiatives that booksellers need to read and take action on: a Winter Institute 12 update; details from ABA’s president on the latest Civic Economics data and other topics; and important announcements about this year’s Indies First initiative, a new Indie Next List e-newsletter for your customers, and the upcoming season’s Indies Introduce titles and signup.

ABA President Betsy Burton provides a first look at some of the frightening data from the soon-to-be released updated Civic Economics Amazon and Empty Storefronts Study and encourages booksellers to take advantage of the resources available to create a firestorm of public interest.

The ABA Nominating Committee is looking for qualified candidates to serve on the ABA Board of Directors. Any ABA member may nominate a qualified candidate, including themselves.