About ABA

Monday, April 25, is the deadline for ABA Regular Bookstore members to submit electronic ballots for the election of 2011 officers and directors.

The ABA Board of Directors has sent a special appeal to their fellow booksellers to resume the 10-year-old battle to restore the safeguards for reader privacy that were eliminated by the USA Patriot Act.

This week, ABA presidential candidate Becky Anderson and vice presidential candidate Steve Bercu talk about the challenges facing independent bookstores and ABA’s role in helping members meet those challenges head-on.

BTW talks to this year’s three director candidates for the ABA Board –  John Evans, Matt Norcross, and Ken White – about the challenges facing independent bookstores and ABA’s role in helping members meet those challenges head-on.

Since the merger of the Association of Booksellers for Children into ABA in fall 2010, the resulting ABC Children’s Group at ABA has been bustling with activity that will continue and enhance programming for children’s booksellers and other book industry professionals.

Today the American Booksellers Association provides a first look at programming for its ninth annual Day of Education, to be held on Monday, May 23, at BookExpo America. The Day of Education at BEA is sponsored by the Ingram Content Group.

The location of ABA’s March 29 Booksellers Forum to be held in conjunction with the MPIBA Spring Meeting has been changed to Fresco Italian Café, next door to The King’s English Bookshop, in Salt Lake City.

On Wednesday, March 23, all ABA Regular Bookstore members were sent an e-mail with a link to an electronic ballot for the 2011 election of ABA officers and directors.

ABA has created a series of new templated ads for members designed to help communicate the special attributes and ongoing services of indie bookstores to customers and book buyers. The six ads present a positive, inviting message and are adaptable for many markets.

ABA bookstore members have approved a bylaws amendment that moves the association from a nine-person Board of Directors to a 10-person Board by making the position of Board president a separate and distinct position that serves one two-year term.

Between April 3 - 6, ABA will host Booksellers Forums in San Francisco, in conjunction with NCIBA; in New York City, in conjunction with NAIBA; and in Medford, Massachusetts, in conjunction with NEIBA.

ABA will host a Booksellers Forum on March 30 in conjunction with SCIBA’s Spring Meeting and on March 31 in conjunction with PNBA. The Southern California meeting will also feature a Sales Tax Fairness Workshop, appropriate for all indie retailers in the state.

Friday, March 11, is the deadline for member stores to vote on an amendment to ABA’s bylaws and to submit petitions to have additional director candidates added to this year’s Board ballot.

Upcoming in March are ABA Booksellers Forums in Brown Deer, Wisconsin; Atlanta, Georgia; Salt Lake City, Utah; Manhattan Beach, California; and Lake Forest Park, Washington. Here’s a look at ABA’s program in Atlanta, in conjunction with SIBA, and in Salt Lake, in conjunction with MPIBA.

Next Friday, March 11, is the deadline for ABA member stores to vote on an amendment to the ABA’s bylaws and to submit petitions to have additional director candidates added to this year’s Board ballot.