The American Booksellers Association 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 sponsors the BookSense website, which is intended to preserve a connection between consumers and local independent bookstores. BookSense can be accessed via Wikipedia's ISBN lookup.

Well Known Independent Bookstores

The following is a (partial) list of well known independent bookstores and the city in which they're located.

• Tattered Cover in Denver, Colorado
• Powell's City of Books in Portland, Oregon
• Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Strand Book Store in New York, New York
• City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, California
• Elliot Bay Book Company in Seattle, Washington
• Skylight Books in Los Angeles, California

External Links

• American Booksellers Association website
• BookSense website