American Booksellers Association Celebrates 125th Anniversary

HARRISON, NY, UNITED STATES, February 13, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Founded in 1900, The American Booksellers Association (ABA) is celebrating its quasquicentennial anniversary with a year-long celebration beginning this month.

The first event will be a celebratory reception at the association’s 20th annual Winter Institute in Denver, Colorado, February 23–February 26, 2025, where 965 booksellers, authors, and publishers will convene for the bookselling industry’s largest event. There will be a presentation highlighting historical moments in ABA history which will be posted after the event on Bookweb.org, ABA’s website.

Additionally, ABA will be interviewing a series of key influential figures and industry leaders to get varied perspectives on how the organization has changed and what hopes they have going forward. These interviews will be covered in Bookselling This Week (BTW).

The organization was first established by six men who owned and operated brick and mortar storefronts, but today’s membership includes a diversity of business models including pop-ups, vending machines, bookmobiles, wine bars, and cafes along with traditional storefronts. Today’s bookstore owners are as diverse as their business models, including people from all backgrounds and ethnicities, genders, and orientations.

The six booksellers who founded the American Booksellers Association in 1900 could never have imagined the future they were preparing for — one that would include the rise of technology, social media, Amazon.com, industry consolidation, and big-box retailers.
But they also couldn’t have predicted the incredible power indie bookstores would grow to wield as a channel within the book industry, the community ABA would build, and the vital role these independent bookstores would play in their communities.
The fact that ABA membership has grown from six indie bookstores to 2,500+ indie bookstores would astound them!
Through the growth and challenges of the last 125 years, ABA has offered steadfast support, helping independent bookstores not only survive but thrive — from antitrust lawsuits and free expression advocacy, to industry conferences with hundreds of indie booksellers in attendance, virtual education and networking, e-commerce, and more.
It’s hard to imagine what the next 125 years will bring, but as we look to the future, ABA remains committed to preparing independent bookstores for what lies ahead and firm in our belief that books and independent bookstores are essential to our lives, our communities, and our democracy. —Allison Hill ABA CEO


Independent bookstores have always been centers of communities and cultural hubs that connect readers to books in a personal and authentic way — adding character to neighborhoods, championing and centering diverse and new voices, and supporting free expression.


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About ABA

ABA is a not-for-profit trade association supporting over 2,500 independent bookstores across the country. ABA was founded in 1900 and advocates for booksellers on a daily basis, providing members with education, networking opportunities, advocacy, resources, and technology.

Ray Daniels
American Booksellers Association
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