SIBA's Annual Meeting was held virtually on Zoom on November 14. Approximately fifty booksellers attended to hear reports from the SIBA staff and board and to ask questions or raise issues of concern. SIBA faced an eventful year, including adopting revised by-laws, which changed the eligibility requirements for bookstore members and expanded the board, and responding to a devastating hurricane season, which affected a wide swath of its members from Florida to North Carolina and Tennessee. SIBA's own main office and executive director, located in Asheville, were cut off for almost two weeks, requiring the implementation of its emergency plan to continue operations. Nevertheless, the tone of the meeting was generally upbeat and positive. Executive Director Linda-Marie Barrett spoke of SIBA's "generous community" and the willingness of its members to help each other in times of crisis. SIBA Board President Julia Davis spoke about the work done to make the organization more inclusive and how excited she is for the future.

Some highlights:

• SIBA announced that the 2025 New Voices New Rooms annual conference will be held in Atlanta in 2025, date and venue to be announced. See coverage in Publishers Weekly and Shelf Awareness
  
  
• Financially, SIBA continues to be in a strong position, with a 30% increase in assets since 2022. This has allowed SIBA to increase the amount of scholarships and financial assistance to booksellers for development.
  
  
• The 2024 New Voices New Rooms Conference operated without a loss despite soaring hotel and food and beverage costs, The conference had increased bookseller attendance and extremely positive feedback.
  
  
• Other SIBA programs, including March Madness bookstore-hosted events and the Indie Press Social event in Louisville, Kentucky, have received good participation and reviews from booksellers. Linda-Marie Barrett noted that there was a trend in the region away from virtual events and towards in-person gatherings.
  
  
• SIBA membership is at 226 active members - a 20% increase from 2023. 46 new members joined in 2024. SIBA's Membership Coordinator Candice Huber is actively reaching out to lapsed members and thinks membership could reach 300 bookstores in 2025.
  
  
• Membership engagement and participation has increased significantly, as evidenced by the recent SIBA board election, which drew the highest percentage of members voting in the past decade.
  
  
• SIBA created a resources and information hub in the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The organization will use the hub as a model to expand emergency preparedness resources for stores, both before and after a crisis.
  
  
• SIBA actively addressed the concerns of store members facing book banning in their communities, including the creation of a successful Banned Books Week toolkit for stores. SIBA also launched "Decide For Yourself" on its reader targeted newsletter, The Southern Bookseller Review. Decide For Yourself features SIBA bookseller reviews of books that appear on the PEN America index of banned books.