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Wednesday, April 12, 2023
Welcome New Board Members
 

Thank you to everyone who voted in this year's ABA Board of Directors Election. The voting has officially concluded. 

Congratulations to our new Board Members (pictured left to right, top row):

  • Diane Capriola, Little Shop of Stories, Decatur, GA, Children's Independent Bookstore (previously served as an appointee)
  • Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, Greenlight Bookstores, Brooklyn, NY, General Independent Bookstores
  • Lisa Swayze, Buffalo Street Books, Ithaca, NY, Cooperatively-Owned Independent Bookstore
  • Holly Weinkauf, Red Balloon Bookshop, St. Paul, MN, Children’s Independent Bookstore 

And to our new Officers (pictured left to right, bottom row):

  • President — Tegan Tigani, Queen Anne Book Company, Seattle, WA
  • Co-Vice President & Secretary — Cynthia Compton, 4 Kids Books & Toys, Zionsville, IN & MacArthur Books, Carmel, IN
  • Co-Vice President — Jenny Cohen, Waucoma Bookstore, Hood River, OR

The Board transition will occur after ABA’s Annual Meeting and Community Forum on Thursday, May 25. New Board Members will be present at the meeting as part of the transition.

Action Items
Sign Up for a Free Banned Books Week Kit!
 

Sign up now to receive a free Banned Books Week kit! ALL bookstores that want to receive a Banned Books Week kit MUST fill out the form. Bookstores that signed up last year will NOT automatically receive a 2023 kit. 

Banned Books Week kits are sent annually to participating stores and include materials to create a Banned Books display and educate customers about the freedom to read. Supplies are limited and are fulfilled on a first-come, first-served basis. The deadline to sign up is Friday, April 28.

If you have any questions, please email David Grogan, ABFE Director, at [email protected].
 
Sign Up
Check Out the Bookstore Resource Library

ABA has launched a Bookstore Resource Library! This collection of customizable templates features forms designed especially for bookstores. You’ll find invoices, order forms, daily checklists, and more, with additional forms in the works. If you have feedback or forms you’d like to share with other booksellers, you can email [email protected] with the subject line “Resource Library.” 

If you’re a document enthusiast, you’ll also enjoy this month’s Education Meetup. The ABA Education: Doc Swap will be Thursday, April 13, at 3:00 pm ET, for booksellers who want to share their favorite forms, documents, and checklists.

Visit the Library
Texas Booksellers: Tell Lawmakers to Oppose HB 900 and SB 13

Thank you to the Texas booksellers who sent more than 900 emails to Austin opposing these two bills! But the fight isn't over yet. Join us in contacting Texas lawmakers and urging them to oppose HB 900 and SB 13. 

These bills represent unnecessary and egregious intrusions by the state into the business of selling books and curating library selections. HB 900 requires book vendors (including independent bookstores) to identify any books that are "sexually explicit" or "sexually relevant" before selling them to schools. Any books that are rated “sexually explicit” cannot be sold to schools. 
Write Your State Lawmakers
Wi2023 Recordings are Now Available on BookWeb

All of the recorded sessions from Winter Institute 2023 are now available on BookWeb! Now you can revisit your favorite sessions or check out the ones you weren’t able to attend.

Watch Wi2023
Save the Date

Save the date for these upcoming events:
What to Know
Free Speech Victory in Idaho!

A week after ABA asked Idaho booksellers to urge Governor Little to veto the censorship bill, HB 314, the governor did just that!

HB 314 would have made a school or library subject to a civil penalty of $2,500 if it provided materials “harmful to minors.” Striking down the bill, Governor Little cited the bill’s “ambiguity” and “unintended consequences” such as increased library costs or closures. The Governor stated: “...our local and school libraries are a critical component of ensuring our Idaho kids have the resources they need to be successful readers and lifelong learners...I support the sponsors' intent of this bill to keep truly inappropriate materials out of the hands of minors. This is an effort I know everyone in the Idaho Legislature supports. However, I am also concerned that harmful content can be much more easily accessible to youth on their phones and the internet, not at their libraries."
ABFE Quarterly Update

The American Booksellers for Free Expression's (ABFE) update on its recent work is now available on BookWeb. This update covers ABFE's work from January 1, 2023 through March 31, 2023. You can find these updates under the "Free Expression Work" header on the ABFE page. Questions can be sent to ABFE Director David Grogan at [email protected].
Advocacy Quarterly Update

Advocacy’s quarterly update for January 1, 2023 through March 31, 2023 is now available on BookWeb. You can find these updates on the ABA Advocacy page under “Quarterly Advocacy Updates.”
An Indies Introduce Q&A with Claire Forrest

Claire Forrest is the author of Where You See Yourself, a Winter/Spring 2023 Indies Introduce Kids' selection. Here, Forrest and Tory Hall of Chapters Books & Gifts in Seward, NE, discuss Where You See Yourself.
May/June Kids' Indie Next List Preview

Here is a preview of the titles on the May/June 2023 Kids’ Indie Next List flier, arriving at stores in the upcoming Kids’ Box mailing. Top pick? Big Tree by Brian Selznick.
 
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