Forums

The Idea Exchange on ABA’s Web site, www.BookWeb.org, provides forums for booksellers to exchange ideas with colleagues and to express opinions to, and ask questions of, ABA staff and Board members. This area is only accessible to ABA bookstore members who have registered a login name and password. To register for the online forums and for access to all restricted areas of BookWeb.org, booksellers may simply click here for an online registration form.

ABA bookstore members in the Great Lakes, Mountains and Plains, and Pacific Northwest regions will have the opportunity to talk with representatives of the ABA Board and senior staff at Booksellers Forums held in conjunction with regional booksellers association meetings in March. Booksellers are encouraged to come to ask questions, express opinions, and hear from their colleagues. This year, members have the chance to offer input into ABA’s new strategic plan, as priorities and new directions for the Association are developed.

On Tuesday, February 12, approximately 20 booksellers attended a Booksellers Forum held at the Westford Regency, in Westford, Massachusetts, from 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. The Booksellers Forum followed a meeting of the New England Booksellers Association Advisory Council.

On Thursday, February 7, about 30 booksellers attended an ABA Booksellers Forum at Weber’s Inn in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Representing ABA at the forum were Avin Mark Domnitz, ABA CEO; Len Vlahos, director of BookSense.com; and Karl Pohrt, ABA Board member, from Shaman Drum Bookshop in Ann Arbor. Among the key topics discussed at the forum were ABA’s new strategic plan and BookSense.com’s new marketing initiative.

On Tuesday, February 12, there will be an ABA Booksellers Forum from 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. in Westford, Massachusetts. The forum will provide ABA member booksellers an opportunity to meet and talk with ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz, ABA COO Oren Teicher, and Len Vlahos, director of BookSense.com. The forum will follow the New England Booksellers Association Advisory Council meeting and will be held at the Westford Regency, 219 Littleton Road, Westford, Massachusetts [(978) 692-8200].

On February 7, in conjunction with the Great Lakes Bookseller Association, the American Booksellers Association will be conducting the first of two booksellers forums scheduled for the Great Lakes area in the upcoming months. The forum will provide ABA member booksellers an opportunity to meet and talk with ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz and Len Vlahos, director of BookSense.com. It will be held from 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. in the Century Ballroom of Weber's Inn, 3050 Jackson Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan [(734) 769-2500].

ABA Booksellers Forums provide members with an opportunity to meet with representatives of the ABA staff and Board to discuss issues relating to ABA programs, bookselling, and the state of the industry.

The first ABA Booksellers Forum of 2002 took place at the DoubleTree Hotel in Atlanta on January 16, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The forum was held after a busy day of ABA activities in Atlanta, which included meetings of the Strategic Planning Committee and the Governance Review Committee.

ABA is hosting its first Booksellers Forum of 2002, in Atlanta. The forum, held in conjunction with the Southeast Booksellers Association (SEBA), will provide ABA member booksellers with an opportunity to meet and talk with ABA Board members and senior staff. Participants will have the chance to express their opinions--as well as to provide input as the association develops new priorities and directions.