A Report on the ABA Board's Winter Meeting

The American Booksellers Association Board of Directors, senior staff, and representatives from the regional booksellers associations held meetings from Saturday, February 3, to Monday, February 5, immediately following the Winter Institute at Oregon's Portland Doubletree at Lloyd's Center.

Among its activities during the three days of meetings, the Board:

• Selected Russ Lawrence of Chapter One Book Store in Hamilton, Montana, as ABA President and Gayle Shanks of Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona, as ABA Vice President/Secretary for additional one-year terms, beginning June 2007. Their names and those of director candidates will appear on the Board ballot, which will be mailed in early April, 60 days prior to the Annual Membership Meeting, for approval by ABA membership.
  
  
• Received and approved the report of the ABA Nominating Committee, chaired by ABA Board member Collette Morgan of Wild Rumpus in Minneapolis. For three-year terms as directors, beginning in June 2007, the committee recommended the nomination of Steve Bercu of BookPeople in Austin, Texas; Tom Campbell of The Regulator Bookshop in Durham, North Carolina; and Cathy Langer of Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver. Langer is currently a member of the ABA Board and is eligible for an additional three-year term.
  
  Booksellers leaving the ABA Board in June 2007 are Carla Jimenez of Inkwood Books in Tampa, Florida, and Linda Ramsdell of The Galaxy Bookshop in Hardwick Vermont.
  
  In addition to Morgan, this year's Nominating Committee included ABA Board member Beth Puffer of Bank Street Bookstore in New York City; Valerie Koehler of Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston; Ken White of SFSU Bookstore in San Francisco; and former ABA President Mitchell Kaplan of Books & Books in Miami and Coral Gables, Florida. (Under ABA's bylaws, in addition to candidates put forth by the Nominating Committee and approved by the Board, any bookstore member may submit a petition for a Director candidate. (See related story.)
  
  
• Heard a report by ABA President Russ Lawrence of Chapter One Book Store in Hamilton, Montana, about his activities on behalf of the association.
  
  
• Received a report from ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz regarding work on ABA's next Strategic Plan, the association's first-quarter financial report, and his participation in myriad industry meetings on behalf of ABA.
  
  
• Approved appointments to the Booksellers Advisory Council: Nicole Magistro of The Bookworm of Edwards in Edwards, Colorado; Dave Weich of Powell's in Portland, Oregon; Julia Cowlishaw of Shaman Drum Bookshop in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Ellen Scott of The Bookworm in Omaha, Nebraska; Mark LaFramboise of Politics and Prose Bookstore and Coffeehouse in Washington, D.C.; and Robert Utter of Other Tiger Bookstore in Westerly, Rhode Island.
  
  
• Approved a motion to present to ABA membership for a vote at the June 1, 2007, ABA Membership Meeting an amendment to the association's bylaws that formally establishes an Audit Committee and spells out the responsibilities of the Governance Review Committee. (The full text of the bylaws change will be presented in an upcoming edition of BTW and will be mailed to membership with the Board ballots, in early April, 60 days prior to the Membership Meeting.)
  
  
• Reviewed the just-concluded Winter Institute and the association's plans for educational programming and special events at this year's BookExpo America in New York City and Hotel ABA in Brooklyn.
  
  
• Heard a report on the Booksellers Advisory Council meeting held prior to the Winter Institute, which included feedback on ABA's next five-year Strategic Plan.
  
  
• Heard and discussed a report on the January meeting of ABA's new Digital Task Force, which is charged with looking at the myriad technical changes affecting the world of consumer book consumption and advising ABA on devising strategies to address these issues.
  
  
• Reviewed departmental reports provided by ABA staff in advance of the Board meeting.
  
  
• Participated in a telephone conference call with William King of Merrill Lynch, the association's financial consultant, who provided the Board with updated information on the association's investments.
  
  
• Heard reports on the Publisher Focus Group meetings, beginning at the end of February and organized by ABA on behalf of the participating publishers, as well as plans for the upcoming Winter/Spring Booksellers Forums.
  
  
• Met with the presidents and executive directors of the regional booksellers associations, including the Great Lakes, Midwest, Mountains & Plains Independent, New Atlantic Independent, New England Independent, Northern California Independent, Pacific Northwest, and Southern California Independent booksellers associations and the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance.