About ABA

As Michael Tucker approaches the end of his first term on the American Booksellers Association's Board of Directors this June, he finds the greatest sense of achievement in having contributed to the development of ABA's current educational programming. "I have derived the most satisfaction from my involvement in the educational programs that have been developed and presented to the membership through ABA," he recently told BTW.

Ballots now in the hands of the American Booksellers Association's bookstore members feature the names of three candidates up for election to serve three-year terms on the Board of Directors beginning in June: Ken White of SFSU Bookstore in San Francisco; Dan Chartrand of Water Street Bookstore in Exeter, New Hampshire; and Michael Tucker of Books Inc. in San Francisco, a current Board member who

This week, the bookstore members of the American Booksellers Association began receiving ballots to elect three booksellers to serve three-year terms as directors on the ABA Board. The mailing of the ballot and a postage-paid return envelope were sent via the U.S. Postal Service.

The American Booksellers Association has reorganized its schedule for the Day of Education on Thursday, May 29, at this year's BookExpo America. Changes to the program, which encompasses 15 education sessions and breakfast and lunch keynote addresses, were made in response to bookseller input.

The last of this spring's nine American Booksellers Association Forum programs will be held on Thursday, May 1, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in conjunction with the New England Independent Booksellers Association (NEIBA).

Bookstore members of the American Booksellers Association will soon begin receiving a ballot to approve new officers and to elect directors to the Board for terms beginning June 2008.

Following up on letters sent by New York booksellers to their state legislators, on Wednesday, March 19, American Booksellers Association staff joined representatives of the Retail Council of New York in Albany, where they met with key legislators from both the Assembly and Senate in support of the Internet Sales Tax provision's inclusion in the final state budget.

On Monday, March 10, and Wednesday, March 12, the American Booksellers Association held Booksellers Forum programs in conjunction with the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association (SCIBA) and the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (NCIBA), respectively.

For booksellers, becoming greener means incorporating environmentally friendly practices in day-to-day operations, as well as meeting the needs of a growing number of consumers looking for reliable information on everything from the science of global warming to public policies and personal practices that can help make the world a better place to live.

On her way to a meeting of the Library of Congress' Reading Promotions Partners at the Center for the Book in Washington, D.C., ABA Director of Member Services Jill Perlstein stopped at several bookstores along the way to chat with their owners and snap a few photos for BookWeb.org's photo gallery.

In a trip covering over 600 miles in a little more than two days, Perlstein stopped at six ABA member stores.

Independent booksellers and representatives from 12 major publishing houses and Ingram Book Group/Ingram Publishers Services gathered last week in New York for a series of focus groups organized by the American Booksellers Association on behalf of the participating companies. This is the third year that ABA has facilitated the focus groups, which enable publishers to gather bookseller feedback about existing programs, as well as input on plans for the future.

On Saturday, March 8, the American Booksellers Association held an education program and a Booksellers Forum in conjunction with the Midwest Booksellers Association (MBA) Spring Meeting, during the weekend of the Minneapolis Spring Gift Show at the Park Plaza Hotel in Minneapolis. More than 40 booksellers attended the day's programming.

The American Booksellers Association will hold a Booksellers Forum program in conjunction with the Great Lakes Booksellers Association on Wednesday, April 16, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Petitions to place the names of additional director candidates on this year's American Booksellers Association Board of Directors election ballot must be submitted to the chair of the Nominating Committee by Wednesday, March 12.