ABA Members Get an Update and Share Views at BEA

Once again, ABA's Town Hall and Annual Membership meetings provided ABA members an opportunity to offer comments and share feedback as well as get an update on the association's activities during the past year.

ABA Town Hall Meeting

ABA President Ann Christophersen

This year's Town Hall Meeting, held on Friday, May 30, at BookExpo America, was filled with constructive and positive comments from attending booksellers. ABA President Ann Christophersen of Women & Children First in Chicago opened the informal meeting, asking booksellers to share their thoughts about ABA and to "raise whatever questions and concerns you have."

Joining Christophersen on the dais at the front of the room were ABA Vice President/Secretary Mitchell Kaplan of Books & Books, in Coral Gables, Florida, and former ABA President Neal Connerty of Bookshop Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, California. And in the audience were ABA Board members John Bennett of Bennett Books in Wyckoff, New Jersey; Carla Jimenez of Inkwood Books in Tampa, Florida; Karl Pohrt of Shaman Drum Bookshop in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Russ Lawrence of Chapter One Book Store in Hamilton, Montana; Suzanne Staubach of UConn Co-op in Storrs, Connecticut; and Lilla Weinberger of Readers' Books in Sonoma, California. (The town hall format grew out of the desire of ABA members to have an opportunity to share feedback, ideas, and concerns in a less formal context than at the association's annual meeting, which, under New York State law, must adhere to more formal rules of procedure.)

The hour-long meeting began with an announcement by Tina Jordan, public relations director/special events director for BookExpo America, who explained why show manager Greg Topalian was not able to attend this year's convention. "Nothing would keep Greg from [BookExpo] -- barring the birth of his first child," she said, prompting laughter from the large crowd. She noted that, due to the success of the special booksellers' Hotel California at this year's show, Reed Exhibitions will work closely with ABA to try to replicate the "Hotel 'California' in Chicago" in 2004.

A major topic of the meeting was the announcement that ABA and gift card vendor Givex would be launching an electronic gift card program for stores with Book Sense. ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz explained, "We have been trying for well over a year to put together a national gift card program. You think it would be the technology [making it difficult to do], but, in truth, that [was] the least of the issues."

Domnitz noted that the organization analyzed the services over 50 different gift card vendors, and he reported that most required the use of another card processing machine. However, Domnitz said, Givex offers different methods to process gift cards. "The beauty of Givex is that it's not tied to any credit card processing system. It's a stand-alone system," he said. This will allow booksellers to participate in the program either via the Internet, a choice of two different processing machines, or telephone. For those booksellers who do not have a dedicated connection for Internet access, "this is a good opportunity to get it now," Domnitz said. "[Participating via the Internet] is a good way that doesn't duplicate expense." Booksellers at the meeting on the whole reacted favorably to the news, and Dan Chartrand of Water Street Bookstore in Exeter, New Hampshire, said he was particularly happy that the program would "allow [independent booksellers] to serve a whole demographic that we have been missing."

(BTW will have more on the new electronic gift card program in upcoming issues.)

In other business, Paul Constant of Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle, Washington, raised concerns regarding ABA's new marketing partnership with Minute Maid's Bacardi Mixers to attract consumers participating in reading groups to independent bookstores with Book Sense. Constant said he believed that ABA should not partner with corporate entities. Other booksellers at the meeting shared his concerns regarding Minute Maid's Bacardi.

"The cornerstone of the Book Sense program is the Book Sense 76," Christophersen said in response to members' comments. "We've received enormous support from publishers, but there's a limit to that support. We do need financial sources, but [the Board] will be very circumspect about the partners we take on in the future." Kaplan reported to members that "this decision was not made lightly," explaining that it came about only after much discussion among Board members and ABA's Booksellers Advisory Council.

ABA Marketing Officer Michael Hoynes also took the floor and stressed that ABA chooses its marketing partnerships based on whether or not the promotion is reading-related. In regards to Bacardi Mixers, Minute Maid research indicated that book club demographics match Bacardi's marketing criteria. "The research is very clear, reading group members come together for social [reasons]…. We need to find ways to attract people to our stores. This was a great opportunity to bring them in."

In other business at the Town Hall Meeting, Carole Horne of the Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, Massachusetts, asked if ABA was maintaining its focus on advocacy issues, citing specifically recently announced new trade terms from Penguin and HarperCollins. Domnitz noted that "we are aware" of the terms' implications for independent bookstores and said that ABA's commitment to helping secure a level playing field for independents had not lessened.

ABA Annual Membership Meeting

Immediately following the Town Hall Meeting was ABA's Annual Membership Meeting. Booksellers heard a report from both Board members and ABA CEO Domnitz on the association's implementation of the strategic plan over the last 12 months. In her president's report, Christophersen pointed to the growing effectiveness of ABA's governance structure and said, "It's been a great year…. It's so great to have this group of people to work with."

Board member Carla Jimenez reported on Board elections, in which Mitchell Kaplan and Suzanne Staubach were re-elected to the Board, and Gayle Shanks of Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona, was elected to the Board. Members also ratified the Board's selection of Christophersen as president and Kaplan as vice president/secretary.

Kaplan then gave the membership report. He noted that ABA membership had decreased from 2,983 to 2,643, or 11.4 percent, for the period April 2002 to April 2003. These numbers include bookstore, associate, provisional, and auxiliary members. The largest decrease occurred in the provisional category, which dropped by 33 percent. The bookstore membership category saw the slightest decline, at nine percent.

ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz

In his CEO's report, Domnitz reviewed this past year's activities under ABA's Strategic Plan for 2002 - 2007, as well as a number of new initiatives and the further development of the Book Sense program.

"This past year was the first year under our [new] strategic plan," Domnitz said. "Everything the association does is geared to the plan. Staff is evaluated on the implementation of the plan, and the budget is geared to the plan."

Domnitz first discussed how ABA worked to realize the plan's first goal, which is to provide independent professional booksellers with the access to education, information, and business services they need to be successful. He reported that ABA presented a full-day of educational programming at BookExpo America; offered the Budgeting and Monitoring Workshop eight times in 2002 and 2003; re-introduced the new ABACUS study; offered education programs at all 10 regional trade shows; sponsored a Prospective and New Booksellers School at BEA and other times during the year with Paz & Associates; and cooperated in publication of the brand-new Bookselling For Dummies (Wiley); among other initiatives. Moreover, Domnitz noted that the ABA Web site, BookWeb.org, is an ongoing source for association news, services, and resources, including Book Sense, the online edition of the ABA Book Buyer's Handbook, and Bookselling This Week.

Noting the debut of the "What Are You Reading?" lunch for booksellers on Thursday at the show, Domnitz said, "We tried very hard to maximize the opportunities for peer-to-peer interaction" throughout BEA. And, happily, he reported that of the 60 students attending the booksellers' school, "almost one-half have signed leases or have already opened stores."

Domnitz said that the second goal of the association is to serve as the voice of professional independent booksellers and advocate on their behalf on such issues as free expression, trade practices, literacy, and community activism. He explained that ABA and the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) are leading the effort on the Freedom to Read Protection Act, a bill introduced into Congress by Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), which would repeal Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act. "ABFFE, unfortunately, is very busy these days," he said. Additionally, ABA is continuing the fight for Sales Tax Equity online. Domnitz noted that both fights were winnable in the coming year.

The plan's third goal, Domnitz said, is to promote the value of independent booksellers through Book Sense and other cooperative activities. "Book Sense has reached the value of a goal in this association's strategic plan," he noted. Domnitz gave attendees a Book Sense update, and reported that more than 1,200 locations in the 50 states, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands are participating in the branding and marketing program.

The Book Sense 76 and Bestseller lists continue to grow, he noted. "Over 400 bookstores are reporting [to the bestseller lists]," he said. Domnitz also mentioned the popularity of the Book Sense Book of the Year Award, presented annually at the Celebration of Bookselling at BookExpo America, and the Book Sense Specialty Top Ten Lists, among other Book Sense initiatives. Among the national partners the program works with, he cited The New Yorker and the History Channel. Of the latter, he said, "This is a national cable network with an audience of readers -- and they are important to reach." Domnitz also reported that the BookSense.com free trial produced 42 new sign-ups and discussed the BookSense.com co-op reimbursement program, which launched at BEA.

Following the report on the strategic plan, Domnitz reported on the ABA's 2003 Financial Statement. Domnitz noted that the association's projected operating result for 2003 is a deficit of $798,311, compared to a deficit of $2.89 million in 2002. He reminded booksellers that the ABA Board has charged the staff "to present a balanced budget to the Board, which we will do."

To review the presentation at the ABA Annual Membership meeting, click here.

The meeting closed with both praise and a cautionary note. Chuck Robinson of Village Books, in Bellingham, Washington, congratulated the ABA Board and staff for several notable accomplishments, a sentiment that was echoed by John Evans of DIESEL, A Bookstore, in Oakland, California, who noted "I thank you for the your energy and all your efforts on our behalf." However, he also advised the organization's leadership to remain open to dissenting opinions and to listen to "younger booksellers, who are often the conscience of the organization," without appearing unintentionally defensive. Christophersen thanked Evans for "a point well taken."

In new business, Fran Keilty of Atticus Bookstore in Connecticut and Massachusetts, thanked outgoing Board member Lilla Weinberger of Reader's Books in Sonoma, California, for her many efforts on behalf of ABA and the membership.