At the annual meeting of the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association, held at the same time as the SIBA annual meeting, the focus was on NAIBA's work helping member bookstores during the pandemic, the successful virtual conference done with SIBA, and the new board officers and members who became part of the board during the meeting.
President Bill Reilly of river's end bookstore, Oswego, N.Y., started his report saying, "Who knew?" and recounted that just last fall, it was "business as usual." Seven months into the pandemic, "here we are working together to find what we hope will be the best way forward."
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| Bill Reilly | |
Since the pandemic started, "NAIBA, along with the rest of the world, pivoted." The association hosted Zoom meetings and socials, surveyed members, donated $25,000 to the Book Industry Charitable Foundation and, as part of Binc's #SaveIndieBookstores campaign, hosted a matching effort that raised more than $50,000 in donations. In addition, NAIBA extended dues for a year, and staff has been in close touch with the ABA, other regional associations and Binc. NAIBA has continued the Indie Playlist program and introduced the professional booksellers certification program. The board also attended an inclusion session with Cultures Connecting.
Executive director Eileen Dengler, who, with NAIBA staff, was deeply thanked for all her work and particularly this week's New Voices, New Rooms virtual conference, continues, Reilly said, to head advocacy efforts by calling and writing publishers to discuss "the practices we see as being harmful to independent bookstores."
Dengler, who is on the board of Binc, also gave a report about Binc's great work, all the more important this year given the pandemic's effect on bookselling as well as the recent wildfires on the West Coast.
Bill Reilly added: "It's always great to have a strong regional organization at your back, but, boy, it's never more important than in the times we've been enduring for the last six or seven months."
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| Hannah Oliver Depp | |
Secretary-treasurer Hannah Oliver Depp gave the treasurer's reports, saying that NAIBA has current assets of $666,000 and invested "a serious amount" in Covid-19 relief, helping Binc, extending memberships for a year and investing in future projects. The association is financially secure, she continued, but had been building up an operating budget "so that in case anything happened--which it did--we would be secure. We have spent some of that rainy day fund, but that's what it was for."
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| Rebecca Fitting, new NAIBA president | |
Past president Todd Dickinson of Aaron's Books, Lititz, Pa., and chair of NAIBA's nominating committee, introduced new board members and officers whose terms began at the meeting. (Bill Reilly, who with the changes became new past president, smilingly referred to it "the peaceful transfer of power on the NAIBA board.") Rebecca Fitting of Greenlight Bookstores, Brooklyn, N.Y., is the new president, and Hannah Oliver Depp of Loyalty Bookstores, Washington, D.C., and Silver Spring, Md., is the new v-p. Erin Matthews of Books with a Past, Glenwood, Md., is the new secretary-treasurer.
New members of the board are Dan Iddings of Classic Lines, Pittsburgh, Pa.; Veronica Liu of Word Up Community Bookshop, Washington Heights, New York City; and Noelle Santos of the Lit.Bar, Bronx, N.Y. Karen Torres of Hachette Book Group begins her next term.
Continuing board members are Michael Triebwasser of Politics & Prose, Washington, D.C.; Amanda Zirn Hudson of Bethany Beach Books, Bethany Beach, Del.; and Trish Brown of One More Page, Arlington, Va.
Fitting acknowledged and thanked Dickinson, as well as Rita Maggio of BookTowne, Manasquan, N.J., who is leaving the board. She called Maggio "one of my bookselling icons and mentors." --John Mutter