2013 Candidate Bios

For a Two-Year Term as President (2013 – 2015)

Steve Bercu, co-owner of BookPeople in Austin, Texas, began his retail life at the age of five in his family’s toy store at a time when all the neighborhood stores were locally owned. Customers knew the owners of the stores, many of whom were their neighbors. That experience formed Steve’s sense of retail. His commitment to local, independent businesses led Steve to found the Austin Independent Business Alliance in 2001, an organization he continues to head as president. Steve has served on ABA’s Bookseller Advisory Council and has been a member of the ABA Board of Directors since 2007.

“As ABA continues its journey into the digital age and its new partnership with Kobo while helping us maintain the value of print books, we are all faced with numerous challenges,” says Steve. “I believe that the core mission of ABA remains to educate our members so that we can face these challenges. I also believe that it is crucial to always take the long view so that we are not swept up in the fad of the moment and, instead, sort out the true direction of our industry to form our responses. It is wonderful to see the vibrancy of indies across the country and to feel that we are on the ascendant again.”

For a Two-Year Term as Vice President/Secretary (2013 – 2015)

Betsy Burton co-founded The King’s English Bookshop in Salt Lake City, Utah, 35 years ago and seven years ago published a book about life in an independent bookstore entitled (appropriately enough) The King’s English: Adventures of an Independent Bookseller. Betsy has served on various boards in the book business and in her community, but her primary focus (besides bookselling) for at least the past 15 years has been to foster awareness of the importance of locally owned and independent businesses to both local and national economies, and to communities nationwide. Betsy co-founded (in 1997) and served on the board of Salt Lake’s Vest Pocket Business Alliance and co-founded (in 2005) Local First Utah, where she is co-chair of the board. She is also a past board member of both the American Independent Business Alliance and the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, national organizations whose member-networks are composed of independent businesses. Betsy has been a member of the ABA Board of Directors since 2009.

“Aside from a focus on Local First initiatives and on the fight for e-fairness, I’m eager to work as a board member with publishers on new business models,” Betsy says. “Independent bookstores are far more important to publishers than ever — we not only serve as showrooms for their books but also do the grassroots marketing that creates the buzz necessary to put books on the map. If we are to survive and thrive, we need to be partners with publishers, jointly engaged in reformulating the way we do business. I’m hopeful that more and more publishers will come to understand our vital importance to this industry we all love, and that the next year will see more positive changes in the way we do business together.”

For Three-Year Terms as Directors (2013 – 2016)

Sarah Bagby began her career in bookselling as a part-time clerk at Watermark Books in Wichita, Kansas, in 1979. She is now the majority partner and has seen the store through two moves and the addition of a café. Sarah was on the board of the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association and was president for three years. She has been on advisory boards in the publishing industry, participated in many educational panels, and was on ABA’s Booksellers Advisory Council. Sarah is also active in the Wichita community, where she has served on numerous community and professional boards. Sarah is up for election to a second three-year term on the ABA Board of Directors.

“After serving one term on the ABA board, I am committed to serve as an advisor for all the advocacy work that ABA undertakes on behalf of independent bookstores — efforts that are also of great benefit to the entire industry,” says Bagby. “As the owner of a general bookstore founded in 1977, I have valuable experience from which to advise and support these efforts. As we all rely more on Shop Local movements, technology solutions for eBook devices and content sales, new business models, and educational opportunities to keep our stores and communities vital, ABA needs board members who can speak out and offer feedback on myriad projects. I am excited — and yes, somewhat apprehensive — about the future of our business, but I remain stalwart in keeping my store and the culture of reading books and exchanging ideas alive here in the Heartland.”

Annie Philbrick has been co-owner of Bank Square Books in Mystic, Connecticut, since June 2006. Bank Square Books is an anchor store in downtown Mystic and has been in the same location for 25 years. Annie began serving on the Advisory Council of the New England Independent Booksellers Association (NEIBA) in 2007 and has served as president of NEIBA for the past two years. Annie is a member of ABA’s Booksellers Advisory Council and is a founding member of the Southeastern Alliance, a local business movement in the Mystic area. Prior to purchasing Bank Square Books, Annie worked for the Small Business Development Center at the University of Connecticut. Bank Square Books has been her local independent bookstore for the past 20 years, during which time she also garnered knowledge of the business vicariously through her son, who worked for the original owner during his high school years. Annie has served as a juror for the Connecticut Book Award and is a member of the southeastern Connecticut “One Book, One Region” initiative.

“We jumped at the opportunity to purchase Bank Square Books because we believed in independent bookstores and their way of thinking and hoped that we could continue to strengthen our presence in the local community, as well as bring Bank Square Books to the forefront in bookselling,” Annie says. “Working with ABA will be rewarding and challenging as independents continue to grow their stance in the world of bookselling. I am looking forward to meeting these challenges and learning as much as I can to make our collective market share that much wider. As has been said, we are all in this together.”

Robert Sindelar has been a bookseller for 22 years. He started his career at Books & Books in Coral Gables, Florida, in 1990 and in 1992 moved to Seattle, Washington, where he worked at The Elliott Bay Book Company for seven years. In 1999, Robert joined Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, Washington, where he is now managing partner. Third Place Books is a large independent bookstore with new and used books and two locations in the Seattle area. Robert has served on the ABA Booksellers Advisory Council, the ABA Nominating Committee, the ABA Indie Commerce Task Force, and the Washington State Book Awards Committee.

“It is a very exciting time to be considered to be on the ABA Board of Directors,” says Robert. “So much has changed in the bookselling landscape over the past few years that ABA has more areas than ever where it can focus its energy. Whether in areas of technological opportunities, advocating to publishers, or bookseller education, the challenge for the ABA board is to speak for the membership in guiding ABA as to which projects it can succeed in most efficiently. Having been active in other ABA roles and a regular attendee of the Winter Institute and BookExpo America, I look forward to the opportunity to lend my knowledge and experience in advocating for membership in a role on the ABA board.”