Balloting Underway to Elect ABA Officers and Directors

Last Friday, March 29, all ABA Regular Bookstore members were e-mailed an electronic ballot for the 2013 election of American Booksellers Association officers and directors. In order to be counted, ballots must be cast by April 30, 2013. One person per ABA Member ID number may vote, and a BookWeb log-in [1] and the store ABA Member ID number [2] are required.

Booksellers who attempted to log in to BookWeb over the past weekend may have encountered an error message due to an Internet service interruption. All ABA phone lines and Internet connections have been fully restored since Monday morning, and booksellers can cast their ballots any time until midnight on April 30.

Booksellers nominated by the ABA Board to serve as directors for three-year terms (2013-2016) are Sarah Bagby of Watermark Books and Café [3] in Wichita, Kansas; Annie Philbrick of Bank Square Books [4] in Mystic, Connecticut; and Robert Sindelar of Third Place Books [5] in Lake Forest Park, Washington. Bagby currently serves on the Board and is eligible for a second three-year term.

ABA’s current vice president, Steve Bercu of BookPeople [6]in Austin, Texas, was named by the ABA Board to serve a two-year term as association president, and current Board member Betsy Burton of The King’s English Bookshop [7]in Salt Lake City, Utah, was named to serve a two-year term as vice president/secretary. Their names and those of the director candidates appear on the ballot. No petitions were received in support of additional candidates; however, there is space on the ballot for write-in candidates.

The election results will be announced at the beginning of May, and the new Board members will be welcomed at the ABA Annual Membership Meeting, which will be held on Thursday, May 30, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., at the Javits Convention Center in New York City in conjunction with BookExpo America [8]. The Membership Meeting will be preceded by ABA’s Town Hall meeting from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

ABA members with questions about the election process should contact Meg Smith [9].