About ABA

This week, the American Booksellers Association issued a warning to its members and to subscribers to Bookselling This Week to beware of e-mails with attachments that appear to have come from ABA, BookSense.com, or BookWeb.org. These e-mails did not come from ABA and may contain computer viruses that can create technological problems if the attachment is opened.

On Wednesday, February 25, in conjunction with the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA), ABA held a Bookseller Forum in the The Lansburgh Building, next door to Olsson's Books & Records in downtown Washington, D.C. Among the key topics of the forum were the Book Sense Gift Card Program, the Book Sense 76, and the Campaign for Reader Privacy (CRP). The forum was led by ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz and COO Oren Teicher, with ABA Vice President Mitchell Kaplan of Books & Books in Coral Gables and Miami Beach.

As part of its comprehensive educational programming at this year's BookExpo America (BEA), which will be held from June 2 - 6 in Chicago, ABA is sponsoring a Booksellers School, "Fundamentals of Independent Bookselling -- Strategies for Understanding and Growing a Profitable Business." School programming will augment the skills of anyone who is considering opening a bookstore or buying an existing store; booksellers who still feel new to the business or who are new to management and leadership roles; booksellers asp

As part of its continuing series of Booksellers Forums, ABA recently sent invitations to booksellers in the New England and Mid-South regions asking them come together to share in discussions of matters of concern to all booksellers and to get an update on ABA programs and services. Among the topics open for discussion are sales tax initiatives, efforts to amend the USA Patriot Act, net-pricing proposals, programming for BookExpo America, Book Sense and plans for its fifth birthday celebration, the 2004 ABACUS study, and more.

On Friday, February 20, and Saturday, February 21, ABA Booksellers Forums were held in conjunction with the Southern California Booksellers Association (SCBA) in Pasadena and San Diego, respectively. At both forums, ABA COO Oren Teicher provided attendees with updates on a number of ABA programs and initiatives, including the Book Sense Gift Card Program, the Campaign for Reader Privacy (www.readerprivacy.com/), and plans to celebrate the fifth birthday of Book Sense.

Pasadena Forum

The American Booksellers Association and Publishers Weekly are teaming up to provide better information to their constituencies. This new relationship will allow greater access for ABA members to the crucial industry information that Publishers Weekly delivers through its weekly magazine and Web site. It will also enable ABA to increase communications with publishers and further its message that independent bookstores are indeed a significant sales channel.

Well-attended ABA/NCIBA Booksellers Forum.

On Wednesday, February 18, approximately 45 booksellers attended an ABA Booksellers Forum, hel

ABA recently extended an invitation to upper Midwest booksellers to come together at a Booksellers Forum on Saturday, March 6, at the Comfort Inn Airport, in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington. The forum is part of a program that will run from 1:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. and is co-sponsored by the Upper Midwest Booksellers Association (UMBA).

The Campaign for Reader Privacy (www.readerprivacy.com), a nationwide grassroots effort to restore safeguards for the privacy of bookstore and library records eliminated by Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act, officially launched this week, but many independent booksellers have been collecting customer signatures on petitions calling for an amendment of Section 215 since early January. And those who spoke to BTW reported that customers do not need to be prompted to lend a hand, literally, to the cause.

At the recent meeting of the American Booksellers Association's Board of Directors, the Board approved the report of the ABA Nominating Committee, chaired by Neal Coonerty of Bookshop Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, California. The committee presented the Board with the names of three candidates for three-year terms as directors on the Board (2004-2007). (Under the current ABA bylaws, each year three members of the nine-member Board come to the end of their terms.)

The American Booksellers Association is currently accepting nominations of booksellers' handselling favorites for the 2004 Book Sense Book of the Year Awards (BSBY). All ABA member stores are eligible to nominate titles in the categories of Adult Fiction, Adult Nonfiction, Children's Literature, Children's Illustrated, and Paperback. Only one nomination form per store is allowed; the first form received will be the official ballot.

On Wednesday, February 25, ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz and COO Oren Teicher will meet with booksellers at an open forum at Olsson's Books & Records in downtown Washington, D.C. Held in conjunction with the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA), the forum is an opportunity for booksellers to ask questions, express opinions, and discuss issues relating to ABA, NAIBA, Book Sense, bookselling in general, and more.

ABA is strongly encouraging bookstores to submit their fiscal 2003 financial statement numbers to the "ABACUS Survey - Year 2."

By Len Vlahos

On Monday, February 9, ABA Communications Manager Kristen Gilligan and BookSense.com Director Len Vlahos set out on a weeklong tour of East Coast bookstores. Here's a report on their final two days on the road. To read about the first three days of their journey, click here.

Day 4 -- February 12
Triad to Research Triangle

On Tuesday, February 17, organizations representing booksellers, librarians, and writers announced the official launch of the "Campaign for Reader Privacy (CRP)," a nationwide grassroots effort to restore the safeguards for the privacy of bookstore and library records that were eliminated by Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act.