About ABA

This week, ABA announced that David Walker had joined the association as Director of Special Projects. Walker will be focusing on three key areas: developing educational programs, building upon and maintaining relationships with publishers and wholesalers, and working with ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz on further enhancing the ABACUS study.

The Mountains and Plains Booksellers Association (MPBA) held its Spring Meeting at the Marriott Denver Tech Center in Colorado from Thursday, March 31, to Saturday, April 2. On Friday, an ABA Booksellers Forum and Education Program was held in conjunction with the meeting.

Booksellers visiting BookWeb's Idea Exchange this week will note the addition of a new Education Forum, which is designed to provide ABA member booksellers with an opportunity to learn and share thoughts and experiences, ask questions, and offer suggestions and tips on the material presented in ABA's various education programs, including "The 2% Solution." This forum is intended for bookseller-to-bookseller interaction, though ABA staff will moderate the postings and respond to questions when ap

In March, the American Booksellers Association extended an invitation to Great Lakes-area independent booksellers to come together on next Tuesday, April 12, at a Booksellers Forum and Education Program at Mitchell Books in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

The final phase of the Campaign for Reader Privacy (CRP) -- a nationwide grassroots petition drive calling for an amendment to Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act to ensure the privacy of bookstore and library records -- has begun. The centerpiece of CRP, which is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, the American Library Association, the Association of American Publishers, and PEN American Center, is a petition drive that is being conducted in bookstores and libraries and on the Web at www.readerprivacy.org.

The American Booksellers Association Forum and Education Program scheduled for Tuesday, April 5, in Long Island, New York, has been cancelled due to scheduling conflicts.

The educational session, "Renegotiating a Lease," a feature of the Long Island program, will be offered in New York City on Thursday, June 2, as part of ABA's full day of educational programming at BookExpo America (BEA).

American Booksellers Association Board of Directors ballots, arriving in stores now, feature the names of two new candidates for the Board: Collette Morgan of Wild Rumpus Books for Young Readers in Minneapolis and Michael Tucker of Books Inc. in San Francisco.