SCIBA Members Vote to Dissolve Organization

On Friday, September 27, during its annual meeting and fall trade show, members of the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association (SCIBA) voted unanimously in favor of a resolution that would dissolve the organization.

Booksellers in the SCIBA region will be invited to join the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (NCIBA). This year, after hearing overwhelming support from its membership throughout the summer, the NCIBA board voted to redefine the region’s territory to include the entire state as eligible for membership, as allowed for by the NCIBA bylaws.

“The American Booksellers Association applauds and congratulates SCIBA — particularly Maryelizabeth Yturralde and the entire board — for finding a way forward in this challenging moment,” said ABA CEO Oren Teicher. “We acknowledge that this was a difficult series of conversations and SCIBA succeeded in giving members an opportunity to speak up and be heard as well as coming up with a solution that ensures that member booksellers can continue to participate in a regional association that will support them.”

The SCIBA board voted to pass a Resolution to Dissolve SCIBA at the end of 2019 during a special meeting on September 22; the board arrived at this solution based on a budget review and an anticipation of the organization’s projected lack of income to offset expenses going forward, resulting in a lack of solvency.

In NCIBA’s latest newsletter, Executive Director Calvin Crosby noted that the two California bookseller associations have a long history of collaboration. SCIBA had been exploring the possibility of joining forces with NCIBA, which also recently announced three vacancies in NCIBA leadership that are open to SCIBA booksellers.