Spotlight on ABA President Michael Tucker

Michael Tucker, of San Francisco's Books Inc., is on the ABA Board of Directors ballot for approval by membership for a second one-year term as ABA president. Ballots must be submitted electronically by midnight on April 26.

Michael Tucker is president/CEO and co-owner of Books Inc., which has 12 locations throughout California, including Compass Books and Bzinc at the San Francisco International Airport. He has served as an ABA board member since 2005, and is completing his first term as ABA president.

Before Tucker was offered a full-time job and store manager position at Books Inc. in the 1980s, he traveled in the Middle East, working on two major archeological digs in Israel; was employed by the now-defunct wholesaler Bookpeople in Berkeley for several years; and opened a graphic design firm. After founding the firm, he "felt the draw back to bookselling" and simultaneously worked at Printer's Ink and Books Inc. in Palo Alto.

Tucker is currently working on the design concept for Books Inc.'s next store, another Compass Books, due to open at the newly refurbished Terminal 2 of SFO in February 2011.

Each Books Inc. location is actively involved in its community, and the business has been honored for its contributions to local schools by San Francisco School Volunteers. "It's essential to participate in and give back to the communities our stores support," Tucker said. "Schools, libraries, local businesses, and charitable organizations are part of the neighborhoods we exist in, and we can't thrive in them without reaching out and eventually giving back to those who support us. Books Inc. donates back more than $100,000 every year to local schools and organizations that we partner with for in-store events, author luncheons, shopping nights, and book fairs."

Books Inc. is a member of both the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association and the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association. The business is also an active member of the San Francisco Locally Owned Merchants Alliance.

For his upcoming and last term on the board, "I will continue to pursue my commitment to the membership in our education programs and engagement in technology development," said Tucker. "We also have opportunities for opening constructive dialog with many partners both within and outside the trade that can be of tremendous benefit to the membership. I will, along with my fellow board members, make certain we expand those efforts."

The shifting bookselling landscape opens up some new prospects for indie booksellers, said Tucker. "For the first time in years, the pace of change in our trade is offering unique opportunities to independent booksellers. I know we have an ability not just to survive, but to prosper." --Karen Schechner

Read BTW's profiles of board candidates Sarah Bagby of Watermark Books in Wichita, Kansas; Steve Bercu of BookPeople in Austin, Texas; and Tom Campbell of The Regulator Bookshop in Durham, North Carolina; and vice presidential candidate Becky Anderson. See also BookWeb's complete board candidate bios.