About ABA

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.

On Wednesday, February 27, the American Booksellers Association called on member bookstores in New York State to voice their support for the Internet Sales Tax provision in Gov. Eliot Spitzer's proposed budget by writing to both their state senator and assemblyperson. If the budget is approved with the provision, out-of-state online retailers selling products in New York State will be required to collect state sales tax. The budget, which is due by April 1, will be debated by legislators throughout March.

In addition to the 2008 Board of Directors candidates recommended by ABA's Nominating Committee and approved by the Board, the association's bylaws stipulate that bookstore members can submit petitions to place the names of additional director candidates on the ballot. All petitions must be submitted to the chair of the Nominating Committee by Wednesday, March 12.

This week, the American Booksellers Association provides a first look at programming for its Day of Education to be held on Thursday, May 29, at BookExpo America in Los Angeles. The day's events, which will be held at Hotel ABA, the Renaissance Hollywood, are open exclusively to ABA bookstore and provisional members.

As part of the American Booksellers Association's overall governance, at its January meeting the Board of Directors reviewed and approved the ABA Ends Policies, which are now posted on BookWeb.org. In a letter to ABA members, President Russ Lawrence of Chapter One Book Store in Hamilton, Montana, explained how the association's Five-Year Strategic Plan morphed into Ends Statements, "a much nimbler, more realistic approach to planning."

The American Booksellers Association's Booksellers Forum Tour will begin on Saturday, March 8, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, followed by stops on Monday, March 10, in Los Angeles, and on Wednesday, March 12, in San Francisco, California.

Candidates for the American Booksellers Association's 2008 Board of Directors elections, as recommended by ABA's Nominating Committee and approved by the Board and announced last week, are Dan Chartrand of Water Street Bookstore in Exeter, New Hampshire; Ken White of SFSU Bookstore in San Francisco; and current Board member Michael Tucker of Books Inc.