About ABA

In the second in a series of ABA Board profiles, BTW talks to ABA Vice President Robert Sindelar, the managing partner of Third Place Books, about his early experiences with reading and books, his bookselling career, his goals as a Board member, and more.

An amendment to the Bylaws of the American Booksellers Association that will increase the number of Board members from 10 to 11 was approved by the membership in a vote that concluded on Monday, October 26.

Saturday, October 31, is the last day for ABA members to submit the names of qualified candidates for consideration by the Nominating Committee for the 2016 ABA Board of Directors elections.

In this first in a series of interviews with members of the ABA Board of Directors, President Betsy Burton talks about her early experiences with reading and books, what motivated her to found The King’s English, some of the important changes in the industry since then, and more.

On Tuesday, October 27, ABA launched a test designed to increase traffic to member stores — and to their e-commerce websites — by improving the online shopping experience for an initial purchase on IndieBound.org.

ABA’s Board of Directors is strongly urging bookstore members to vote today on an important amendment to ABA’s bylaws, which, if passed, will increase the number of Board members from 10 to 11.

The ABA Nominating Committee, chaired by Jamie Fiocco of Flyleaf Books, has extended the deadline for the nomination of candidates to serve on the ABA Board of Directors until next Saturday, October 31. Any ABA member may nominate a qualified candidate.

The past month was a busy time, full of planes and trains and automobiles, for ABA President Betsy Burton, who reflects here on the conversations and meetings she had with booksellers during her travels.

The American Booksellers Association’s Board of Directors met from September 26 – 28, 2015, in Denver, Colorado, and over the course of the meeting worked on a number of issues of concern to members.

Monday, October 19, is the deadline for ABA members to submit nominations of qualified candidates for the 2016 ABA Board of Directors to the Nominating Committee, chaired by Jamie Fiocco of Flyleaf Books.

Here, ABA CEO Oren Teicher shares some of the backstory about the creation of the association’s e-commerce service for indie bookstores, now known as IndieCommerce.
 

Between October 2 and October 11, ABA will be taking part in five regional trade shows: NAIBA, PNBA, NEIBA, MPIBA, and the Heartland Fall Forum. At each, booksellers will have the opportunity to attend the all-new education session “The Economics of Publishing and How They Impact Booksellers” and to visit ABA on the trade show floor.

ABA is currently seeking the input of ABA member stores on two important governance matters: prospective candidates for the 2016 ABA Board elections and a change to the association’s bylaws.

On Wednesday, September 16, in an e-mail from ABA CEO Oren Teicher, all ABA main store members were sent a link to a ballot to either approve or disapprove a proposed amendment to the association’s bylaws.

Registration for the 11th annual Winter Institute opened on Wednesday afternoon, September 9, and, despite the fact that ABA increased bookseller registration by 15 percent, the institute reached full capacity on Friday morning, September 11. Booksellers can now add their names to a waitlst.