A Letter From ABA’s CEO

Dear Bookseller,

This letter starts with a special thanks to all of you who joined us in New York for BookExpo America. It was good to see you!

Your ideas, insight, and feedback about ABA programs and initiatives — from education and advocacy, to Indies Introduce and IndieCommerce — are essential in helping ABA do a better job on your behalf. The more we hear from you, the better we will be. (And I encourage you to reach out to us year-round, especially to your ABA membership manager: Catherine Cusick in the GLIBA, MIBA, NAIBA, and NEIBA regions and Nathan Halter in the MPIBA, NCIBA, PNBA, SCIBA, and SIBA regions. Think of them as your ABA reps — and never hesitate to contact them on anything ABA-related.)

Happily, one thing that became very clear when talking with you during BEA was the continued sense of vibrancy in the indie bookstore market.

At our annual membership meeting, we were pleased to announce that for the sixth year in a row ABA membership has grown. ABA member bookstores are operating in more than 2,200 locations, reflecting a substantial increase from a year ago. And, as a channel, independent bookstore sales are up.

While we know that every community is unique, and that not every store has seen growth, there is a clear national trend. In 2014, for 47 out of 52 weeks, unit sales of books, as reported by the hundreds of bookstores reporting to the weekly indie bestseller list, were up over 2013. And, so far in 2015, for all but two weeks, weekly sales have been up over last year’s.

Despite these successes, as always, there are challenges.

Across the country, the issue of rising occupancy costs and minimum wage are becoming increasingly important for bookstores. We’ve been working to develop materials that might help inform elected officials and others about the realities of bookstore finances, especially the issue of minimum wage. This week’s BTW includes an update about how Left Bank Books co-owner Jarek Steele has been working to provide a small business perspective on minimum wage and bookselling’s basic economic model. I encourage you to read it, and, please, do share your feedback with us about this important issue.

In addition, as I mentioned at our recent Annual Meeting at BEA, the reality is that the actions of some publishers, at times, seem as if they are so focused on the short-term gains of direct sales to consumers that they have lost sight of the much greater potential that comes from directing those sales to indie bookstores. In our ongoing talks with publishers, the critical importance of a healthy indie retail channel is at the core of our message.

Happily, a number of publishers have taken out a clean sheet of paper and have formulated trade terms that are 21st century solutions to the significant retail challenges facing all of us today. But, as an industry, we’ve only made a start. We will continue to work hard on your behalf in our dialogue with publishers, and I’m confident that as time goes on more of them will discover that innovation equals growth in sales for both publishers and booksellers.

And, importantly, at the association’s Town Hall meeting at BEA, you and your colleagues were again clear regarding the importance of diversity. I want to underscore what outgoing ABA President Steve Bercu said at the meeting: ABA is firmly committed to helping foster a more diverse and inclusive book industry, and we will continue to work with member stores, the regional associations, and others in our industry to help ensure a healthy, vital, and diverse community of independent bookselling.

As some of you may have read, on the opening day of the show, in an event organized by PEN American Center, a number of U.S. and Chinese authors gathered at the New York Public Library to protest the censorship and intimidation of writers in China. Their gathering was prompted by the large presence of the Chinese publishing industry at BEA. We at ABA want to acknowledge the ongoing work of our colleagues at PEN and the legitimate concerns they have voiced. In today’s global village, all of us have an obligation and responsibility to promote the rights of free speech and free expression everywhere, and ABA continues to take that responsibility seriously.

In another political story, the week following BEA, President Obama signed The FREEDOM Act, which is an important curb on the government’s surveillance power under Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act. While the FREEDOM Act is by no means perfect, it is a very important victory in the fight to restore the protections for reader privacy that were eliminated by the PATRIOT Act. Many organizations — including the American Booksellers For Free Expression — have been working long and hard to restore readers’ rights curtailed by the PATRIOT Act, but you and your colleagues — who have reached out to your elected officials in Washington to voice concerns and to call for change — are to be congratulated. You have again demonstrated the power of bookseller advocacy.

In closing, I want to take one final opportunity to acknowledge and to thank outgoing ABA President Steve Bercu. First as an ABA Board member, then the association’s vice president, and, finally, as your president, Steve’s leadership, intelligence, good humor, and keen insight regarding both the challenges and the opportunities facing indie bookselling have contributed immeasurably to so many of our successful initiatives these past several years. Thanks, Steve!

And, of course, I want to add my personal congratulations on her election to our incoming President, Betsy Burton of The King’s English Bookshop, Salt Lake City, Utah. I look forward to working with Betsy for the next two years.

I hope the upcoming summer months are busy ones in your stores!

Sincerely,

Oren Teicher
CEO, American Booksellers Association