About ABA

ABA, in conjunction with the New England Booksellers Association (NEBA), will be holding a Booksellers Forum and an ABACUS Sneak Preview at the Westford Regency Inn & Conference Center in Westford, Massachusetts, on Thursday afternoon, February 20. [The first February forum and ABACUS preview, as well as a Budgeting and Monitoring Workshop, will be held in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on February 6.

American Booksellers Association volunteer leadership, senior staff, and representatives of the regional associations spent a busy week in meetings from January 12 to 18 in Santa Monica, California. In addition to the ABA Board's winter meeting, the ABA Booksellers Advisory Council (BAC), the newly constituted BookSense.com Users Council (BUC), and members of the regional booksellers associations were all involved in a number of meetings throughout the week.

The first two ABA Booksellers Forums of the year were recently held in California. The first was held in Santa Monica on January 14 and the second in San Francisco on January 15.

There is still time for booksellers to add their names to an ABA letter calling on U.S. governors in the 45 states that collect sales tax to enforce existing tax regulations by making sure that retailers with a physical presence in their states collect sales tax on online sales. Hundreds of booksellers have already added their names to the letter, but ABA is looking to include the signatures of as many ABA member stores in these states as possible.

On February 6, 2003, the American Booksellers Association, in conjunction with the Great Lakes Booksellers Association (GLBA), will be holding a Booksellers Forum at Weber's Inn in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The American Booksellers Association begins its series of 2003 Booksellers Forums this month, with two forums in California.

A series of meetings involving ABA and booksellers will be held in Santa Monica, California, from January 11 - 18. Included will be a meeting of the ABA Board, of ABA representatives and leadership of the regional booksellers associations, of the ABA Booksellers Advisory Council, and of the recently established BookSense.com User's Council. In addition, the first two ABA Booksellers Forums of 2003 are scheduled for that period.

Watch BTW for further coverage.

This week many booksellers nationwide received an e-mail from ABA COO Oren Teicher regarding the American Booksellers Association's efforts to achieve greater equity regarding the collection of sales tax on online sales. The e-mail noted the letter that ABA recently sent to the U.S. governors in the 45 states that collect sales tax. In that letter, ABA again called on states to fully enforce existing regulations by ensuring that retailers with a physical presence in their state collect sales tax on online sales.

The bookstore training and consulting group of Paz & Associates, in conjunction with the American Booksellers Association, is offering a spring workshop for those interested in, or already involved in, the process of opening or buying a bookstore. "Opening a Bookstore: The Business Essentials" will be held on March 23 - 28 in Fernandina Beach, Florida.

Participants will learn:

The American Booksellers Association has once again called on the U.S. governors in the 45 states that collect sales tax to fully enforce existing regulations by ensuring that retailers with a physical presence in their state collect sales tax on online sales.

By Patrick Haller, Program Manager, LIBRIS

The 2003 American Booksellers Association Booksellers Forum schedule kicks off with two forums and ABACUS Sneak Preview sessions to be held in California prior to ABA's January Board meeting. The first forum and ABACUS session will be held in cooperation with the Southern California Booksellers Association on Tuesday, January 14, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the DoubleTree Guest Suites -- Santa Monica, 1707 Fourth Street, Santa Monica.

Here is an outline of the most recent changes to the ABA Book Buyer's Handbook online.

Publishers with questions about access to the editing features of the Handbook online should send an e-mail to [email protected] or call (800) 637-0037, ext. 1263 or 1261.

In recent weeks, usage of the new online ABA Book Buyer's Handbook has continued to increase dramatically. The number of successful requests for information in October increased 61 percent over the previous month, and usage has grown over 140 percent since the online launch in May.

BookSense.com recently announced that it has created the BookSense.com User's Council (BUC). The council was established, in part, as a result of the suggestions of numerous booksellers, and, while it is not a governance body, it will provide valuable feedback and will play a key role in helping ABA staff determine the future direction of BookSense.com. "We do seek a lot of bookseller feedback, but we thought it would be nice to formalize the process," said Len Vlahos, BookSense.com director.