About ABA

The American Booksellers Association's efforts to ensure that publishers that are developing electronic catalogs are making them as useful as possible for independent booksellers continued this past weekend. On Friday and Saturday, August 22 and 23, ABA's Electronic Catalog Task Force met at the Doubletree Hotel at the San Francisco Airport to get bookseller input and to fine-tune recommendations that ABA Board members and staff will discuss with publishers at a series of meetings in conjunction with the Board's mid-September meeting in New York.

The 2008 Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) Fall Trade Show will be held from Friday, September 26, through Sunday, September 28, at the Marriott Renaissance and the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center in Mobile, Alabama.

ABA is now finalizing an upgrade to its new database system. Once the new system goes live, users with BookWeb login names will have to reset their passwords. However, BookWeb login names will not be changed.

It is expected that the upgrade will be complete sometime next week. Current registered users should be on the lookout for an e-mail announcement confirming that the new system is live, with instructions on how to reset their password. If you have any questions, please contact Joe Dawson at [email protected].

This week, the American Booksellers Association is a launching a short-term test of the new "Indie Community" on IndieBound.org and, over the next 10 days, the association needs booksellers to test it out and provide feedback. The mission of the Indie Community is to aid customers in their search for unique, independently owned businesses. By connecting indie-conscious people with local businesses, ABA looks to boost local economies nationwide.

At its July meeting, the American Booksellers Association's Board of Directors unanimously approved appointments to the Nominating Committee and to the Booksellers Advisory Council, as put forth by ABA President Gayle Shanks of Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona.

Joining ABA Board member Steve Bercu of BookPeople in Austin, Texas, who was previously named chair of the Nominating Committee, are:

This fall's Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association (MPIBA) Trade Show has a new venue -- the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Colorado Springs -- but its usual array of great educational offerings, special events, and vendor exhibits will still be there.

The New England Independent Booksellers Association (NEIBA) will hold its 35th Annual Fall Trade Show from Thursday, September 18, through Saturday, September 20, at the Hynes Convention Center, in Boston.

The American Booksellers Association's Board of Directors held its summer meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, from Sunday, July 27, through Tuesday, July 29. The meeting began with an orientation to introduce new Board members Dan Chartrand of Water Street Bookstore in Exeter, New Hampshire, and Ken White of SFSU Bookstore in San Francisco to the association's policies and procedures.

Booksellers interested in participating in, or learning more about, the Booksellers Print-to-Order (PTO) Publishing Program, launched by the American Booksellers Association and Applewood Books in July, can now find answers to frequently asked questions as well as a letter of agreement on BookWeb.org.

The 2008 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (PNBA) Fall Trade Show will be held from Monday, September 15, through Wednesday, September 17, in Portland, Oregon, at the Airport Holiday Inn. Among the show's highlights are Monday's many education sessions and the new Nightcapper Party, Tuesday's Feast of Authors, and Wednesday's Celebration of Authors.

Over the past few months, the ABA E-Commerce Solution has been undergoing a major overhaul. The site is migrating to the open-source platform Drupal, which will provide users with new and improved administrative tools, better performance and reliability, and a shorter path to new features and functionality. The new open-source platform is scheduled for fall 2008 release.

This fall, the American Booksellers Association will be presenting education sessions at each of the nine regional booksellers association gatherings. At the top of the list at every show is IndieBound, the new ABA initiative that celebrates independents and supports localism. Other ABA sessions vary from show to show, but here's a first look at what's on the agenda at each. Updates and complete details, including times and presenters, will be provided in the coming weeks in BTW's fall regional trade show previews.

As individuals and businesses nationwide look to counter the effects of the struggling economy, the American Booksellers Association reminds booksellers to check out the dollars-and-cents savings available to all Regular Bookstore Members.

This week, the American Booksellers Association announced a partnership with Applewood Books that will enable ABA member booksellers to publish out-of-print books on demand. The new program will provide participating booksellers with the ability to publish any title that is in the public domain or any book, such as a local interest title, whose rights have reverted to the author and to sell it at margins from 50 to 75 percent.

As BTW reported in June, American Booksellers Association staff members are taking to the road this summer for a series of IndieBound information sessions, where they'll answer questions, share ideas, and help booksellers position their stores to take full advantage of the many opportunities that this exciting