A huge thanks to outgoing DEIC members Christine Bollow, Kim Brock, Audrey Huang, David Landry, Chonteau McElvin, Rafe Posey, and Hillary Smith, for their many contributions to ABA’s work and to the industry, including the creation of IGNITE, the Winter Institute pre-conference for Black, Indigenous, Asian American and Pacific Islander, Latina/o/x, Chicana/o/x, and Hispanic booksellers and bookstore owners, and Institute fast passes to support Institute accessibility.
The ABA’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council (DEIC) serves as a sounding board and advisory council on issues related to antiracism, equity, access, and representation facing the bookselling community and ABA.
Booksellers are invited to nominate themselves or another bookseller!
Nominations are due by 11:59 pm ET on Thursday, February 19, 2026.
The DEIC serves an important role in ABA’s DEI work and members have had a significant impact on that work. The DEIC has also proven to be a pipeline to the ABA Board in the past.
DEIC members provide feedback about ABA programs and services as they are being developed; offer suggestions to help ABA improve programs and services to better serve diverse communities; help identify and respond to emerging threats and opportunities related to antiracism, equity, representation, and access in the industry; bring concerns of booksellers and bookstore owners to the ABA staff and Board; and generally assist ABA.
A candidate for the DEIC:
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Is a part-time or full-time bookseller or bookstore owner at an ABA member bookstore (any format)
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Identifies as diverse (see definition of diverse identities below)
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Has not served on the DEIC previously
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Does not currently serve on ABA's Bookseller Advisory Council (BAC) or Children’s Group Council (ABC)
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Is committed to antiracism, equity, access, and representation
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Is able to meet the time obligation (see below) and serve for two years
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Is prepared to not miss more than 2 meetings a year, is able to be on camera for meetings, and is committed to engaging during members either by speaking or commenting in the chat
As part of the selection process the council will work to ensure that the new DEIC members are as representative of the ABA membership as possible including store format, size, region, and format, as well as identity in terms of race, color, ethnicity, nationality, religion, socioeconomic status, veteran status, education, marital status, language, age, gender, gender expression, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomics, visible or invisible physical or mental disabilities, and learning styles.
A two-year term on the DEIC requires a general time commitment of 30-40 minutes per week which includes:
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Occasional attendance at input, prep, or preview sessions for ABA programming with external speakers or ABA’s education team
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Input in ABA’s Winter Institute and Children’s Institute, offering feedback on programming, accessibility, and support and input for equity and representation
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A monthly 75-minute Google Meets meeting beginning at 2:00 pm ET, usually the first Monday of every month with some exceptions
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Occasional emails asking for feedback
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Generally serving as a resource, contact, and ABA liaison in support of historically marginalized communities within ABA
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Attending Winter Institute (ABA covers hotel, flight/transportation up to $600, and registration for DEIC members), where ABA may request some additional assistance with panels and other initiatives and the group usually shares a meal together.
The first meeting of the new DEIC will take place April 6, 2026 at 2:00 pm ET. New members will be notified no later than March 12, 2026.
For more information about the committee, please reach out to DEIC members or contact ABA at [email protected].