About the American Booksellers Association (ABA)

The American Booksellers Association (ABA) is a not-for-profit trade organization dedicated to the support of independent booksellers nationwide.

What the American Booksellers Association Does
The American Booksellers Association supports independent booksellers in a variety of ways:

• The ABA provides educational support to its member bookstores, in the form of extensive information and checklists on how to open and run a successful bookshop. The ABA runs bookseller education days, as well as the popular Winter Institute of bookseller education seminars. It is an integral part of the BookExpo America booksellers convention.

• The ABA provides advocacy for bookstores and booksellers, fighting for market fairness on important legal and trade issues.

• The American Booksellers Association provides marketing support for its member stores. The IndieBound program encompasses everything from point-of-purchase materials to the Indie Next List--a selection of book "picks" that are then featured in the store--and the Indies Choice Book Awards. Other support for independent booksellers includes detailed instructions on how to market at the store level.

• The ABA provides a sense of belonging and camaraderie among independent booksellers.

A Little History of the American Booksellers Association
The ABA was founded in 1900 and held the first ABA Convention (now called BookExpo America) in 1901. Mark Twain spoke at the second ABA Convention in 1902. Other significant dates in the American Booksellers Association history include the creation of A Manual on Bookselling in 1974, the establishment of Banned Books Week in 1982, and the formation of IndieBound (formerly BookSense), a branded program of tools and resources for independent booksellers.