This month, the American Booksellers Association is asking booksellers to take part in several important membership matters:

January 18 deadline: Financial Snapshot Survey (5 minutes)
On Monday, ABA launched a data survey [4] to help us gain insight into how stores are doing, what you need, and how we can help. The results will inform our talking points when meeting with publishers and the media. Help us help you. We plan to share the results with the membership. All responses are 100 percent confidential. The deadline for the survey is January 18.

January 20 deadline: DEIC Nominations (2 minutes)
Nominations or self-nominations are due [5] by 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday, January 20, for ABA’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee (DEIC), which serves as a sounding board and advisory council on issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, representation, and access facing the bookselling community and ABA. We’re looking for individuals who represent different diverse identities; learn more here [6] and nominate yourself or a colleague now [5].

January 7 launch: Winter Institute Registration (5 minutes)
At 1:00 p.m. ET (10:00 a.m. PT) on Thursday, January 7, registration opens for the 2021 Winter Institute [7]! This year it’s virtual, there’s no cap on attendance, and you don’t have to travel, so take advantage of this opportunity and join us on February 18–20 for education, rep picks, poetry, and the chance to be together. Registration closes January 29.

January 13 launch: ABA Membership Renewal (10 minutes)
We hope that you’ve found your membership to be valuable in 2020. We also hope that you elect to renew your membership for this new calendar year. Membership and dues renewal begins January 13 and ends March 1, and this year it’s critical that renewals occur before the deadline to avoid interruption of Bookweb access, IndieCommerce services, and other ABA benefits.

January 14 launch: Advocacy (2 minutes)
This month, ABA will be launching two advocacy campaigns for members using our new one-click advocacy tool. The first campaign, launching January 14, will be an introduction to your new lawmakers if you have new members of Congress. The second campaign, launching at the end January, will be a push for more comprehensive relief. As the new Congress settles in, it’s important to put booksellers’ priorities front and center. All campaigns will have pre-written messages to send to your lawmakers with the option of adding your own personal story. Be on the lookout for more information as we move forward.

January 15 launch: Independent Bookstore Day
The catalog of exclusive, literary-themed items will go live on the Independent Bookstore Day website [8] on Friday, January 15. Booksellers have until Friday, February 5, to submit their orders. Booksellers must sign up to participate in order to take advantage of the full scope of IBD merchandise and publicity (sign up via the order form), but booksellers are not required to order exclusive IBD merchandise in order to participate. Stores that sign up will receive all important Bookstore Day information, marketing materials, and a place on the searchable map.

Questions about any of these intiatives can be sent to [email protected] [9].