Ann Christophersen, elected president of the American Booksellers Association in May, has the daunting task of steering the ABA's far-flung but close-knit independent booksellers through increasing competition from chains, Internet booksellers and many non-bookstore retailers of books. Her challenge is further compounded by the fact that Christophersen is still working full time at Women and Children First, the Chicago bookstore she co-founded 22 years ago with partner Linda Bubon. Women and Children First is one of the largest feminist bookstores in the country and features titles by and about women, children's literature and a wide selection of gay and lesbian fiction and nonfiction. It has weathered growing pains, a couple of expansions and a move 12 years ago to its present location. If Christophersen is feeling overwhelmed, however, she doesn't let on.

The store's focus and passion and emphasis on serving the community go back to its founding. Christophersen and Bubon met while they were graduate students in English literature. "We both intended to become academics," Christophersen told PW. "But the job market was pretty grim in our field at the time. The store came out of many conversations we had about what we wanted to do next. We were both becoming more and more involved in the feminist movement, and we were definitely products of the '60s. It was important to us that what we did had a political and social value as well as an intellectual value. We settled on starting a bookstore as something that would be a useful combination of all those things."

Christophersen admitted that running the store as a business was hard at first. "Most people don't come to bookselling from MBA programs, and we were certainly no different," Christophersen said. "It was challenging right from the start. We learned in a hurry that it's not enough to simply love books and have a powerful mission. The bottom line is that to survive you have to develop experience and acuity in business practice. We basically educated ourselves, and we're still honing those skills."

The ABA

Christophersen credits the ABA with helping Women and Children First deal with growth pains. "We took advantage of our ABA membership from the beginning," she said. "We took the ABA's bookseller's classes before we even opened. And we've always gone to the conventions and benefited from all the learning opportunities that the organization provides. It's also a huge benefit to meet with other booksellers and to learn from them. There are so many initial challenges facing any new store—establishing relationships with publishers and the community, getting the word out and continuing to work to ensure that new customers are learning about you and dealing with growth. Growth was obviously a big concern for us, as we needed to assure that our business could support two primary owners and a staff."

Women and Children First survived its first 10 years and then moved to its new location in the Chicago neighborhood of Andersonville, only to be hit by a new host of challenges making life increasingly difficult for all independent bookstores. The time seemed right for Christophersen to step up her involvement with the ABA. She initially took a position on the board but with no thoughts of assuming the presidency.

"I'd gotten so involved in the challenges facing independent booksellers over the years," Christophersen told PW, "But I still had my hands full at the store, and we're very much a hands-on operation, so the prospect of really committing myself to the ABA was daunting. Eventually, however, I realized that I really wanted to work on some of these issues at a national level, to work on things that could have a positive effect on independent booksellers across the country."

She served as the ABA's vice president for a term, and this year she decided to take the next step. "I felt an obligation and a desire to do this," Christophersen says of the ABA presidency. "And with Linda's support with the store and additional staff to fill in the gaps it's certainly been manageable so far."

"Obviously this is a crucial time for independent booksellers," Christophersen said. "Competition is fiercer than ever, but we feel like there are a lot of things we can offer our members to help them weather tough times. The ABA's job is taking up the issues that are important to our survival as independent businesses—things like First Amendment rights, literacy campaigns, promoting reading and advocating for fair practices in the industry."

A big part of the ABA's mission is providing educational programs for its members, from offering classes for new booksellers to helping independents stay abreast of new developments in technology. Through communication with members, as well as focus groups, the ABA tries to identify issues of concern and key areas where work needs to be done. In her role as president, Christophersen oversees board functions, runs meetings, sets agendas and acts as liaison between the nine-member board and the ABA's officers.

Book Sense

An important function of the ABA, Christophersen said, is its Book Sense program, which helps members pool resources and market themselves as a group.

"We continue to see Book Sense as a key element in strengthening independents and building market share," Christophersen said. "It's a great promotional tool for getting out the word about books we really believe in. I think those booksellers who have used the program, marketed it in their stores, and worked to educate their customers about it have been very pleased with Book Sense, but we still would like to get a lot more people behind it."

Despite an admittedly rocky stretch for independent booksellers, Christophersen remains positive. "I certainly hope that we can continue to hold our own," she said. "For a number of years we were definitely losing market share, but the last couple years I think we've started to get some of that back, and obviously that's something that the ABA is really working toward. I know a number of stores are still struggling, but as an organization we feel we're moving in the right direction. We're certainly hopeful and excited about continuing to develop new initiatives, as well as expanding the Book Sense program and its Internet presence."

Christophersen continues to find gratification in the dual challenges of running an independent bookstore and shepherding an organization of like-minded individuals. "It would be very difficult for me to imagine not spending my days surrounded by the old books that I love as well as new books that are both interesting and important," she said. "Every day there are new books to get excited about, and there's really nothing more rewarding than working in a community with a group of people who share your values and convictions. This is a business with a great network of colleagues, and you meet so many lovely and interesting people. And I still think there's nothing more exciting than recommending a book to a customer and having it really connect with them."