A Report on ABA's 2009 Winter Board Meeting

The American Booksellers Association Board of Directors and senior staff held meetings on Sunday and Monday, February 1 and 2, immediately following the Fourth Annual Winter Institute in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Among its activities during the two days of meetings, the Board:

• Received and approved the report of the Nominating Committee, chaired by Board member Steve Bercu of BookPeople in Austin, Texas. For three-year terms as directors, beginning June 2009, the committee recommended Betsy Burton of The King's English in Salt Lake City, Utah; Becky Anderson of Anderson's Bookshops in Naperville, Illinois; and Beth Puffer of Bank Street Bookstore in New York City. Anderson and Puffer currently serve on the ABA Board and are both eligible for an additional three-year term.

• Selected Michael Tucker of Books Inc. in San Francisco as ABA President and Becky Anderson of Anderson's Bookshops as ABA Vice President/Secretary for one-year terms, beginning June 2009. Their names and those of director candidates will appear on the Board ballot, which will be sent to ABA members in late March, 60 days prior to the Annual Membership Meeting. (See related story.)

• Approved the appointment of Board member Ken White of SFSU Bookstore in San Francisco as incoming chair of the ABA Nominating Committee.

• Approved the appointment of John Evans of DIESEL, a bookstore, with three locations in California, to the Booksellers Advisory Council.

• Discussed at length steps to address the needs of members during these challenging economic times and voted to institute a dues reduction policy for 2009. (See related story.)

• Reviewed compliance reports prepared by ABA staff on efforts to carry out the Ends Policies, adopted in January 2008, and closely evaluated those policies with a view towards prioritizing ABA programs in difficult financial times.

• Received a full report on the membership outreach effort undertaken by ABA staff in November and December 2008, which included phone calls, individual financial consultations, and Tough Times webinars.

• Met, over dinner, with Phil Ollila, senior vice president, Ingram Book Group, to discuss the recently concluded Winter Institute, sponsored by Ingram, as well as industry trends.

• Heard a report from William King of Merrill Lynch on the association's investment portfolio, which, reflective of the current economic climate, significantly decreased in value, and reaffirmed its support of ABA's long-term investment policies.

• Received a report from the Audit Committee, which is charged with oversight and monitoring of ABA's financial dealings.

• Heard a report from Michael L. McNee of Marks Paneth & Shron LLP on ABA's 2008 Audited Statement, which provided an unqualified ("clean") opinion of the association's finances. (The report, unanimously accepted by the Board, is available to members on BookWeb.org.)

• Reviewed the just-concluded Winter Institute and the association's plans for educational programming and special events at this year's BookExpo America in New York City and Hotel ABA in Brooklyn.

• Heard reports from President Gayle Shanks of Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona, and CEO Avin Mark Domnitz on their work on behalf of the association since the last Board meeting, in September.

• Received a report from President Shanks on the Booksellers Advisory Council meeting held in conjunction with the Winter Institute.

The Board also met in Executive Session to discuss the work of the Search Committee charged with finding a successor to ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz.