About ABA

ABA offers booksellers a range of resources to help them operate their businesses in a professional and profitable manner, including educational programming and supporting handouts, financial benchmarking tools, unique marketing materials, and more. The newly redesigned BookWeb’s Professional Bookselling section puts all these tools at members’ fingertips.

ABA will hold its Annual Membership Meeting on Thursday, May 30, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in Room 1E12/13 of the Javits Convention Center during BEA. It will be preceded by the Town Hall, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., also in Javits’ Room 1E12/13. All ABA members are encouraged to attend.

ABA has signed on to be the primary sponsor for the Book Industry Charitable Foundation’s first-ever benefit concert. The Sips & Songs Concert will be held on June 8 at Woodruff’s in Ypsilanti, Michigan’s historic Depot Town. All proceeds will benefit Binc’s programs to assist bookstore employees experiencing personal financial crisis.

The results of balloting by the bookstore members of the American Booksellers Association to choose a new president, vice president, and three Board directors are now official.

ABA member booksellers and non-members alike are invited to join ABA CEO Oren Teicher, Senior Program Officer Joy Dallanegra-Sanger, Content Officer Dan Cullen, and Member Relationship Manager Kaitlin Pitcher at [words] bookstore in Maplewood, New Jersey, next Wednesday, May 8, for an education session and an open forum discussion.

This morning, ABA launched its redesigned trade website, BookWeb.org. The site’s brand-new look and user-friendly navigation functions make it easier than ever to access the important information and tools critical to the world of indie bookselling.

ABA bookseller members and non-members alike are invited to a Spring Forum to be held in conjunction with the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance on Tuesday, April 30, at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
 

In an April 19 e-mail to bookstore members regarding the class action settlement over rapidly rising Visa and MasterCard swipe fees, ABA recommended that members opt out and object to the settlement.

BookExpo America is right around the corner, and booksellers who want to take advantage of free trade show badges, exclusive parties at Hotel ABA, and special programming for ABC Children’s Group members, as well as be a part of the Celebration of Bookselling and Author Awards Lunch  and the Bookseller/Publisher Focus Groups, must be current on their ABA dues.

This season’s schedule of 11 ABA Booksellers Forums will come to an end on Wednesday, May 8, in Maplewood, New Jersey.

In her bimonthly letter to members, ABA President Becky Anderson looks at some of this spring’s opportunities for booksellers to come together to learn, share ideas and concerns, and take part in special events.

To help ensure booksellers have voted on all ballots, registered for all programs, and reserved tickets for all events they want to attend in the upcoming months, here is a list of eight important deadlines.

ABA will travel to the Midwest and Great Lakes regions on Friday, April 19, and Saturday, April 20, respectively, to host two of its 11 Spring Forum programs. Each event will feature an open forum discussion of industry issues and the ABA education session “The 10 Things You Must Do Now!” plus additional programming.

ABA will hold both its annual Membership Meeting and Town Hall on Thursday afternoon, May 30, at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City, in conjunction with BookExpo America.

Last Friday, March 29, all ABA Regular Bookstore members were e-mailed an electronic ballot for the 2013 election of American Booksellers Association officers and directors. In order to be counted, ballots must be cast by April 30, 2013.