About ABA

The American Booksellers Association is bringing its spring Booksellers Forum and Education Program to Portland, Maine, on Wednesday, April 20. This is the second event of the season to be held in conjunction with the New England Booksellers Association (NEBA), but the first time ABA has brought the program to Maine.

As a helpful reminder, here is a "Three-Month Bookseller Action List," highlighting important dates and deadlines related to ABA and Book Sense activities and events, for the period April - June 2005. The list, which is included in the April Red Box mailing to stores with Book Sense, may also be downloaded in pdf format.

This week, ABA announced a new partnership with Constant Contact, a leading company that provides services to manage e-mail marketing campaigns. Through this partnership, all ABA member bookstores will have access to Constant Contact's suite of tools -- making it easier to create and send compelling e-mail newsletters -- and will earn annual rebates for participating.

Early next week, ABA will mail to bookstore members an envelope containing ballots to approve officers and elect directors to the ABA Board, as well as the brochure, "ABA Convention Programming at BookExpo America."

SOLD OUT! With BookExpo America just over two months away, booksellers who are still interested in staying at Hotel ABA - NYC (the Park Central Hotel) must act now to ensure they reserve a room. All double rooms at the Park Central have been sold out and singles are going fast. This year's BEA will be held from Thursday, June 2 - Sunday, June 5, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.

On March 23, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced that it had joined forces with several conservative organizations "to fix the most extreme provisions of the Patriot Act," many of which are scheduled to expire at the end of 2005.

The American Booksellers Association will be holding a Booksellers Forum and Education Program in Denver on Friday, April 1. All area bookstore owners and staff are encouraged to attend the events, which include an educational component and an update on ABA programs and initiatives, as well as an opportunity to meet with association senior staff to ask questions and to offer comments.

The American Booksellers Association will be holding a Booksellers Forum and Education Program in conjunction with the Great Lakes Booksellers Association (GLBA), at Mitchell Books in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, on Tuesday, April 12, from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Lunch is included.

On Saturday, April 16, the American Booksellers Association will hold its second spring Booksellers Forum and Education Program in conjunction with the Midwest Booksellers Association. All area independent booksellers are invited to attend the events, which will be held at the Brio Italian Restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri, from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.