ABA President Michael Tucker Sends Important Update

On Wednesday, August 18, ABA member bookstores were e-mailed an important letter from ABA President Michael Tucker. The letter outlined the association’s priorities and initiatives, including the launch of a new dues structure, set to go into effect beginning February 1, 2011. Under the changes, the association will be reducing the annual dues of smaller stores, and establishing a separate category for new stores. In addition, the entire dues renewal process -- which has gone unchanged for a decade -- has been made far less complex, and used bookstores will be eligible for membership.

“ABA is making these changes because we believe in the opportunities inherent for community-based, indie booksellers in this time of substantial change -- and the importance of making sure that bookstores have the resources and support necessary to take root and grow,” said Tucker.

Among the key changes in the new dues structure:

• There will be one standard dues year. All members will have the same dues year, running from February 1 to January 31.
• The number of and gross-sales break points for all dues categories will change, and all stores with gross sales less than $250,000 will see their dues lowered.
• There will be two new categories of membership -- for used bookstores and for new stores/new members -- each will be at a reduced dues level.

"In making these changes, a major goal has been to greatly simplify ABA's membership and dues process to make it as easy as possible for bookstores of all sizes to join the association and, we hope, benefit from ABA's programs and initiatives," said ABA CEO Oren Teicher. "As part of this goal, for the first time, ABA is both lowering the annual dues of smaller stores and creating a separate category for new stores."

In the next several weeks, member bookstores will receive a personalized e-mail from their ABA member relations manager, either Elizabeth Nichols or Kaitlin Pitcher (look up your member relations manager by region). The e-mail will detail how the changes will affect the bookseller’s dues.

Tucker also cataloged ABA’s ongoing efforts on behalf of members, including “creating strong educational programming and content” that helps stores compete in a changing digital marketplace. He also noted that ABA has “continued to work very closely with Google to make sure that the introduction of Google Editions on websites powered by IndieCommerce is smooth and glitch-free,” and he reported that the ABA Board had approved a "substantial one-time investment in IndieCommerce" in order "to improve core functions and to add new functionality." Other ABA initiatives include continual communication withpublishers, as well as membership advocacy on the local, state, and federal level.

Tucker capped the letter highlighting a core benefit of ABA – gathering with other booksellers and learning from their collective experience and support. “Throughout these days of change and occasional turbulence, for me the connections of collegiality and community I find in ABA have never been more important, and I hope the association’s resources and programming are providing the support your business needs.”

Here is the full text of Michael Tucker's letter.

August 18, 2010

Dear Fellow Booksellers,

As I begin my second year as your president, I wanted to take the opportunity to update you on ABA’s current priorities and initiatives, especially important changes that we are making in our membership categories and dues structures to make it easier for smaller stores to join ABA and to participate in its programs and initiatives.

Amid the steady pulse of media reports on the changes that the digitization of content is having on our industry, ABA bookstore members recognize, now more than ever, the importance of continued education and professional development. Creating strong educational programming and content remains ABA’s number-one priority. At BookExpo America, ABA’s Day of Education featured 15 sessions, on topics ranging from new business models and serving the “tween” reader to an up-to-the-minute report on Google Editions and the company’s agreement with ABA, which will allow indie bookstores to sell these e-books. (And, happily, this year’s BEA also featured a well-attended, free "Introduction to Retail Bookselling" seminar prior to the Day of Education.)

Looking ahead, ABA is working closely with the regional trade associations to again offer educational programming at the regional shows, and in the spring ABA also will be bringing educational sessions to several regional spring forums throughout the country. And ABA staff is fully focused on the planning and execution of the sixth annual Winter Institute, which will be held in Washington, DC, from January 19 - 21. (Here’s the first report on ABA’s activities at the regional shows, from Bookselling This Week. Watch BTW for more updates and continuing coverage.) Recognizing the importance of education and professional development, ABA provides all this programming free to ABA members.

And because we want to make it as easy as possible for stores of all sizes -- and, particularly, newly established stores -- to be active members of the association, beginning February 1, 2011, ABA will be implementing a new dues structure, updating a system that has gone unchanged for a decade. An important change is that, for the first time, ABA will be reducing the annual dues of smaller stores, and we are establishing a separate category for new stores. In addition, the entire dues renewal process has been made far less complex and more user-friendly. (Yes, the ABA dues calculator that you have come to love will be retired!)

Among the key changes:

• All members will have the same dues year, running from February 1 to January 31.
• The number of and gross-sales break points for all dues categories will change, and all stores with gross sales less than $250,000 will see their dues lowered.
• New categories of membership -- for used bookstores and for new store/new members -- are being established, each at a reduced dues level.

The complete update will be announced in the August 19 issue of BTW.

ABA is making these changes because we believe in the opportunities inherent for community-based, indie booksellers in this time of substantial change -- and the importance of making sure that bookstores have the resources and support necessary to take root and grow. It was with the goal of better meeting those needs that ABA undertook its staff reorganization this year, in order to create a more efficient and responsive association for indie booksellers. And, as you know, the Board appointed Oren Teicher as our new CEO for ABA last year, and he has now completed his first full year.

Communication is an integral part of any business success, and an important part of ABA’s reorganization was the creation of the Member Relations Department, which is working to make sure you have a convenient and effective way to get information about the opportunities available to you as part of your association membership. Elizabeth Nichols and Kaitlin Pitcher -- ABA’s two member relations managers -- are the key contacts for all bookstore and provisional ABA members. With either Elizabeth or Kaitlin as your go-to person at ABA for questions or comments, we hope it will be as easy and straightforward as possible for you to get the answers and information you need.

All bookstore members will receive e-mail communications in the upcoming weeks from their membership relationship manager detailing all the specifics of how the change in dues year will affect them.

ABA’s communication efforts also reach out to publishers and others in the industry and to federal, state, and local governments, as we work to effectively advocate on behalf of the membership. Our recent meetings with our partners in the publishing community have included discussions about potential new business models, and ABA is working to do all we can to help make Local First efforts dynamic and productive.

In addition to education, helping to provide the resources necessary to effectively participate in the rapidly changing digital marketplace is a key goal for ABA. We have continued to work very closely with Google to make sure that the introduction of Google Editions on websites powered by IndieCommerce is smooth and glitch-free. Currently, we expect that Google Editions will launch in the fall, well in advance of the holiday season, and there will be timely updates in BTW leading up to the launch.

But e-books aren’t the only story. At our meeting in June at BEA, the ABA Board approved a substantial one-time investment in IndieCommerce. These resources will be used to improve core functions and to add new functionality. The upgrade is scheduled to be finished before the holiday season, and it will both improve book search and combine different editions of a book (for instance, hardcover, paperback, and e-book) into one search-result product page. The work will also bring about several improvements to the checkout experience.

Importantly, while we recognize that an overwhelming percentage of the industry’s sales remain physical books, we know -- as do you -- that digital sales are growing quickly and will play a key role in our future.

An essential tool for analyzing and increasing bookstore sales is ABA’s ABACUS Survey, and this year we are producing ABACUS in partnership with the National Association of College Stores’ OnCampus Research, an accomplished research operation with many years of experience in conducting similar surveys for college bookstores. I hope you recently received the e-mail from NACS with both information on how to participate in the survey and relevant materials, and that you will be an active participant in the 2010 ABACUS Survey. The data collection process has begun, and the deadline for submitting your data is October 29. Importantly, booksellers will be submitting their information to ABACUS via a completely secure and confidential electronic form, and, once submitted, data is only accessible to the OnCampus Research staff person responsible for the survey. Booksellers with questions about submitting data to the survey can contact Martha Love at OnCampus Research via e-mail.

Throughout these days of change and occasional turbulence, for me the connections of collegiality and community I find in ABA have never been more important, and I hope the association’s resources and programming are providing the support your business needs. I know I speak for the entire Board when I say that, as fellow booksellers, we completely understand the significant challenge it is to operate an indie bookstore these days. However, the stabilization, and slight growth, in membership this past year gives us all reason to be optimistic about the future.

Looking ahead, I encourage you to share your questions, concerns, and ideas. I would very much like to hear from you, as would, I know, the ABA staff. My e-mail address is at the end of this letter, and here's a link to ABA staff.

I look forward to seeing some of you in person at the upcoming regional trade shows, and I hope that in the closing weeks of the summer you have both lots of activity at the cash-wrap and a chance to grab some rest and relaxation before the holiday season!

Sincerely,

Michael Tucker
mtucker@booksinc.net
President, American Booksellers Association
Books Inc.
San Francisco, California