Nominations Closed for Black Booksellers to Join ABA Board of Directors

American Booksellers Association member booksellers have nominated a number of Black booksellers to join the ABA Board of Directors following a membership vote that approved three changes to the association bylaws. 

Bylaws motions passed that bring the number of board members to 13 (from 11) and that require the board to include at least four booksellers who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC), at least two of whom are Black. As a result, the board is seeking two Black booksellers to join the board immediately.

The Nominating Committee will begin its review of the nominees now and announce the results in September. The committee members are Jenny Cohen of Waucoma Bookstore in Hood River, Oregon (chair); board member Tegan Tigani of Queen Anne Book Company in Seattle, Washington; Kathy Burnette of Brain Lair Books in South Bend, Indiana; Hannah Oliver Depp of Loyalty Bookstores in Washington, D.C., and Silver Spring, Maryland; and Michael Herrmann of Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord, New Hampshire.

A nominee for the ABA Board of Directors must:

• Be the owner or employee of an ABA member independent bookstore with a storefront location that is operated according to sound business principles
• Have at least three years of recent experience as the owner or employee of a member company

It is also desirable that nominees have at least two years’ experience as an active volunteer in ABA and/or in a regional association or other constituency organization. Qualifications are outlined in the “ABA Nomination and Election Guidelines” from the ABA Governance Policy Manual.

Once appointed, these booksellers will serve on the board until the next election, in April 2021, at which time they will be eligible for a three-year term.