A Reimagined Community Forum!

ABA’s community forum has always been a town hall where members can talk about the issues their stores are facing and what they need from ABA. This is an important opportunity for the ABA Board to hear from members and to inform the ABA’s ends policies (the overarching goals for ABA’s work) that they review each year. Over the course of ABA’s history, the town hall forum and the voices raised there have brought about important changes and awareness in the industry and in the ABA’s ends policies. This Winter Institute community forum is reimagined to ensure that everyone in our community has a chance to talk and share. For approximately 30 minutes attendees will gather at round tables for open conversation about the business of bookselling, their stores, and the industry. (Open-ended questions will be provided as conversation starters and there will be writing pads and a QR code available at the table for attendees to share their thoughts with the ABA Board.) For the subsequent 20 minutes, attendees will have the opportunity to step to a microphone (or have a microphone provided for them at their seat) and share their thoughts about industry and store issues with all attendees. To ensure that as many topics as possible can be heard at the microphone, there will be a limit of two speakers per topic. Attendees are asked to abide by ABA’s code of conduct and support ABA’s commitment to antiracism and equity.