ABA and NACS Meet in Ohio

(l. to r.) Eleanor Chang, Avin Mark Domnitz, and Oren Teicher at National Association of College Stores headquarters in Oberlin, Ohio.

On Wednesday, October 12, American Booksellers Association senior staff, CEO Avin Mark Domnitz, COO Oren Teicher, and CFO Eleanor Chang, met with senior staff of the National Association of College Stores (NACS) at its headquarters in Oberlin, Ohio, to explore ways in which the two organizations can work together to the benefit of their members.

"NACS was delighted to host our ABA colleagues yesterday to discuss industry issues and ways we might collaborate to better serve our members," said Cynthia D'Angelo, vice president, Association Services/NACS Foundation. "As the leading resource and advocate for college booksellers, NACS believes it is essential that an ongoing dialogue between ABA and NACS be maintained, and even enhanced. Today resources for all associations are being continually stretched and strategic partnerships that can help our member stores succeed is the ultimate win/win goal."

Among the topics discussed were Book Sense and ways to make it more accessible to college stores; advocacy issues including sales tax issues and efforts to repeal Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act; business services programs offered by each group; educational programming and strategic planning; and industry research studies, including ABACUS, and the possibility of future joint studies.

Of the meetings, ABA's Teicher said, "We discussed a wide range of issues including the ways in which our respective programs could be adapted to meet the needs of each other's members and the possibilities for future collaborations. We look forward to continuing our discussions with NACS over the coming months."