About ABA

On Wednesday, July 6, ABA President Becky Anderson sent an e-mail to booksellers with the first of what will be regular updates about the association from both her and ABA’s CEO, Oren Teicher.

On Wednesday, June 22, ABA opened registration for its inaugural IndieCommerce Institute, to be held on Wednesday, August 10, in Rosemont, Illinois, minutes from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.

This week, ABA announced its first one-day educational mini-institute. The IndieCommerce Institute will focus on online commerce and related marketing, and it is set for Wednesday, August 10, in Rosemont, Illinois, adjacent to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.

Last week, independent bookstores experienced a significant jump in e-book sales thanks to Unbridled Books’ partnership with ABA, which featured the promotion of 25 e-books for 25 cents.

The ABA Board of Directors held its spring meeting on May 21 and 22, prior to BEA 2011. Over the course of the two days, the Board  welcomed the association’s newly elected officers and directors and worked on a range of issues.

At ABA’s Annual Meeting, CEO Oren Teicher broke from tradition for his report to share thoughts and observations about responding to today’s industry challenges. Topics covered included how booksellers can succeed in an ever-changing digital world and the best ways that ABA can help to facilitate success and sustainability for independent bookselling.

Booksellers representing approximately 400 ABA member stores took part in ABA’s Day of Education, sponsored by the Ingram Content Group, on Monday at BEA. This year’s focus was squarely on assisting indie booksellers in their goals for retail innovation and success.

Michael Tucker, the co-owner of San Francisco’s Books Inc., talks about his experience during two terms as ABA president and some of the accomplishments, challenges, and surprises of working on behalf of indie booksellers across the country.

At the invitation of the Booksellers Association of the U.K. and Ireland, ABA CEO Oren Teicher delivered the keynote address at the BA’s Book Industry Conference on May 16.

ABA will hold its 2011 ABA Membership Meeting from 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 24, in Room 1E09/10 of the Javits Center, in conjunction with BEA. The Membership Meeting will be preceded by the Town Hall meeting.

From May 2 to May 4, ABA President Michael Tucker and President-elect Becky Anderson, together with association CEO Oren Teicher and COO Len Vlahos, met with 14 publishers in New York City.

ABA has announced that Mark Nichols’ title has changed from Industry Relations Officer to Development Officer. The change was made to better reflect Nichols’ role in the association.

ABA recently convened four Bookseller Task Forces – Digital, Education, Local First, and ABACUS – to gather member input and suggestions for ABA initiatives and programming.

ABA and On Demand Books, the maker of the Espresso Book Machine® (EBM), have entered into a joint marketing agreement whereby ABA will market the EBM to member bookstores and help permission publisher titles to the EBM sales channel.

ABA has launched a completely redesigned and expanded online Booksellers Resource Directory in partnership with Multiview, Inc., a publisher of digital buyer’s guides and e-news briefs.