Dear Bookselling Colleagues,
Thanks to all of you who joined us on May 28 at the ABA Annual Meeting and Community Forum. If you missed it, here’s a link to the ABA Annual Report and Allison’s CEO report, where you will find all the data points about our organization that were reviewed in the Annual Meeting portion of the call. Following that brief meeting, we moved into the Community Forum, and discussed a wide range of topics, including those below:
Winter Institute Community Forum and Programming Access
Two members submitted questions ahead of the meeting about the program for Winter Institute 2026 in Pittsburgh not including an in-person Community Forum. This decision, made by our CEO after discussions with the Board, reflected strong feedback from members after the Winter Institute Community Forums in 2024 and 2025 and leading up to Wi2026. As we considered this meeting format, we had several concerns. First, how do we create a space for member feedback and conversation in a productive way, allowing many voices to be heard? Secondly, how do we create options for discussion that are accessible to all our members, not only to those who are able to travel and attend this event?
While the Community Forum is a single meeting, the conversations within our membership and linkage to the Board of Directors is an ongoing responsibility that we take very seriously. Reach out to us as your representatives and colleagues, and keep us informed of your thoughts, questions and experiences. You can email the Board at [email protected].
Winter Institute programming continues to evolve, and your opinions and outreach to all of these channels above are carefully considered.
Another member asked about restricted press access to two sessions at Winter Institute, which Allison covered as follows: press were asked not to attend two education sessions this year. One session concerned bookstore response to ICE activity in their communities, and was closed due to members' privacy and protection concerns. Another session, the RISEWITHUS session for BIPOC booksellers, was closed to press at the request of members who felt that they could speak more freely without the press present. These decisions to close meetings to the press have been made before at ABA meetings, and are evaluated carefully.
Bookshop.org Commissions and ABA Membership Categories
A question was raised about ABA used bookstore members receiving the 30% affiliate fee and whether this policy contradicted the ABA’s Ends Policies. Currently, ABA member stores with a physical location that choose to participate in Bookshop.org are eligible for the 30% affiliate fee on books ordered through their site, as well as the 10% profit pool. This reflects Bookshop.org’s mission to support physical independent bookstores in communities and their partnership with ABA for our members.
The ABA membership categories currently reflect that both new and used book stores have access to similar benefits, including voting rights and participation in the 30% Bookshop.org pool, as well as the opportunity to serve on the Board of Directors.
Publisher Discounts and Bookstore Sustainability
A question about the long term viability of our channel regarding publisher discounts was an important topic raised by another colleague in our forum. During the recent annual round of meetings with publishers, the issue of the economic survival and stability of members was addressed in each call with publishers. Additional stresses on our profitability were outlined in every publisher conversation, and Board members participated in these conversations to add specific examples of day-to-day challenges within our stores.
It becomes ever more important for us to have accurate data to show publishers' impact on our financial survival, and participation in the ABACUS survey by our members is vital.
Artificial Intelligence
As the use of assistive AI increases, members are asking more questions about AI. In response to one of these questions during the forum Allison shared that ABA is working on future education for booksellers that explores all viewpoints. At the same time, each of our discussions with publishers emphasized strong support on behalf of members for books authored and illustrated by human beings rather than AI.
Other subjects addressed included hybrid/nonprofit bookstore models, BookEd transcripts, and attendance at online events.
You can watch the full Annual Meeting and Community Forum on BookWeb.
All of these topics and many more will be discussed at future Board meetings, and we appreciate your input as we approach the annual Board review of our Ends Policies.
I want to thank each of my fellow Board members for their continued support and volunteer hours, and look forward to our next in-person Board meeting at Children’s Institute later this month.
If you are attending Children's Institute 2026, please drop by our table at the Board Office Hours to chat in person, or reach out any time at [email protected]. Safe travels if you are journeying to Chicago, and I wish us all a profitable summer of bookselling. Read something wonderful.
Sincerely,
Cynthia Compton
ABA Board President
Owner of 4 Kids Books & Toys, Zionsville, IN, and MacArthur Books, Carmel, IN