Spring 2005 ABA Board Meeting Report

On Tuesday, May 31, and Wednesday, June 1, the American Booksellers Association Board of Directors and senior staff met at the Hotel ABA - NYC (The Park Central Times Square), prior to the start of BookExpo America.

During a busy two days, the Board and staff:

• Heard a report from ABA President Mitchell Kaplan of Books & Books in Coral Gables, Florida, about his activities on behalf of the association;
• Received a report on ABA activities and a Strategic Plan update from CEO Avin Mark Domnitz;
• Reviewed the ABA Board election results, certified by the association's election inspector, KPMG. Candidates chosen by ABA bookstore members to serve as directors, with terms ending in 2008, are Michael Tucker of Books Inc. in San Francisco; Collette Morgan of Wild Rumpus Books for Young Readers in Minneapolis; and Russ Lawrence of Chapter One Book Store in Hamilton, Montana (who begins his second three-year term). Membership also ratified the Board's selection of Mitchell Kaplan for a second one-year term as ABA president and Lawrence for a first term as ABA vice president/secretary;
• Discussed matters relating to the imminent ABA Convention and BookExpo America, including materials to be presented at ABA's Annual Membership Meeting on Friday and the agenda for the Booksellers Advisory Council meeting to be held immediately following the trade show;
• Received an update on the Campaign for Reader Privacy and the petition drive calling on Congress to amend Section 215 of the Patriot Act;
• Met with representatives from Working Assets to explore the possibility of future partnerships;
• Reviewed departmental reports from ABA staff members about the Book Sense marketing program, including the Picks lists, gift cards, Bestseller list, and BookSense.com;
• Met with representatives from some of Book Sense's Publisher Partners to answer their questions and to gather their input and feedback;
• Reviewed ABA's investment portfolio with William King of Merrill Lynch;
• Met with Deborah Dugan, president of Disney Publishing Worldwide, to discuss future trends in the publishing industry;
• Discussed independent bookseller participation in the inaugural Quill Awards with Gerry Byrne, chair of The Quills Literacy Foundation, and Anne Binkley, the foundation's executive director;
• Explored obstacles facing a new generation of booksellers with a panel composed of two new booksellers -- Elizabeth Houghton Barden of Big Hat Books in Indianapolis and Sarah McNally of McNally Robinson Booksellers in New York City -- and two prospective booksellers -- Michael Austin and Casey Coonerty, daughter of Neal Coonerty of Bookshop Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, California, who is contemplating taking over her father's business. The discussion was facilitated by Dietmar Grimm of Redstone Strategy Group, LLC;
• Approved two appointments to the Strategic Planning Committee: Catherine Weller of Sam Weller's Zion Bookstore in Salt Lake City and Barbara Theroux of Fact & Fiction in Missoula, Montana;
• Approved four appointments to the Booksellers Advisory Council: Will Peters of Annie Bloom's Books in Portland, Oregon; Kathy Simoneaux of Chester County Book Company in West Chester, Pennsylvania; Britton Trice of Garden District Book Shop in New Orleans; and Willard Williams of Toadstools Bookshops in Peterborough, New Hampshire;
• Approved four appointments to the Nominating Committee: Susan Avery of Ariel Booksellers in New Paltz, New York; Philip Rafshoon of Outwrite Bookstore & Coffeehouse in Atlanta; Collette Morgan of Wild Rumpus; and Neal Coonerty of Bookshop Santa Cruz.

At a dinner on Tuesday evening, the Board honored outgoing directors Neal Coonerty and Karl Pohrt of Shaman Drum Bookshop in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Following the trade show, on Sunday, June 5, and Monday, June 6, at the Hotel ABA -NYC, the Booksellers Advisory Council (BAC) met with ABA senior staff, ABA President Mitchell Kaplan, and ABA Board Director Cathy Langer of Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver. Nine new bookseller volunteers joined the 25-member council, which provides the ABA Board of Directors with a broad cross-section of views from within the community of independent booksellers.

Booksellers joining the BAC were Lisa Baudoin of Main Street Books in Pella, Iowa; Peggy Bieber of Little Professor Book Center in Aberdeen, South Dakota; Frazer Dobson of Park Road Books in Charlotte, North Carolina; Lance Fensterman of Bound to be Read in St. Paul, Minnesota; Allison Hill of Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, California; Tom Montan of Copperfield's Books in Sebastopol, California; Will Peters of Annie Bloom's Books in Portland, Oregon; Kathy Simoneaux of Chester County Book Company in West Chester, Pennsylvania; Britton Trice of Garden District Book Shop in New Orleans; and Willard Williams of Toadstool Bookshops in Peterborough, New Hampshire.

Booksellers ending their terms on the BAC in June were Becky Anderson of Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, Illinois; Betsy Burton of The King's English in Salt Lake City; Dan Chartrand of Water Street Water Bookstore in Exeter, New Hampshire; Scott Foley of Grass Roots Books & Music in Corvallis, Oregon; Sue Griepentrog of The Little Read Book in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin; Vivien Jennings of Rainy Day Books in Kansas City, Kansas; Kelly Justice of Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia; Gwen Marcum of Capitola Book Café in Capitola, California; Lyn Roberts of Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi; and Brother Simba Sana of Karibu Books in Hyattsville, Maryland.