The American Booksellers Association (ABA) is a non-profit industry association founded in 1900 that promotes independent bookstores. The ABA and its members support freedom of speech, literacy, and programs that encourage reading. Many independent booksellers are concerned about the potential negative impact on free speech by giant megachains, such as Barnes & Noble, or even nationwide web retailers, such as Amazon.com. The concern is that publishers cater to these retailers and that control over what books, and hence what ideas, are available will ultimately rest in the hands of these few companies (see propaganda model).

The ABA sponsored the Book Sense marketing program and associated BookSense.com web site, intended to preserve a connection between consumers and local independent bookstores. In June of 2008, Book Sense was replaced by IndieBound, a new program and website.^[1] After a period of beta testing, a social network-style community feature was launched on the website on September 11, 2008.^[2]

List of well-known independent bookstores

See: Independent bookstore

References

1. ↑
2. ↑

External links

• American Booksellers Association website
• IndieBound.org website