Voting Opens on ABA Bylaws Change

The American Booksellers Association this week opened voting on a bylaws change that, if approved by membership, would move ABA from a nine-person Board to a 10-person Board by making the position of Board president a separate and distinct position that serves one two-year term. (Currently, the function of president is filled by an existing director, who serves a one-year term.) The potential change would affect the next ABA president, whose term begins in May.

On Wednesday, February 9, all regular bookstore members were sent an e-mail from ABA CEO Oren Teicher that included a copy of the proposed bylaws change and a link to secure bylaws voting pages on BookWeb.org. Electronic voting will remain open until March 11. Electronic ballot distribution and voting was approved by membership in 2009 and was used during the last two years’ Board elections.

On Friday, February 4, in an e-mail to members, ABA President Michael Tucker of California’s Books Inc.noted that “the Board strongly believes that creating a two-year term for future presidents will prove to be a great benefit for ABA’s governance and for achieving the association’s ends policies by enhancing the diversity of the Board’s deliberations and helping to ensure the frequent infusion of new energy and ideas. Importantly, the Board believes that the change will not sacrifice the responsiveness and collegiality of a small group.”

Booksellers with questions regarding the proposed bylaws changes should contact ABA President Michael Tucker; questions about balloting should be addressed to ABA Content Officer Dan Cullen.