2024 was a historic year for SIBA and SIBA's member bookstores. At the beginning of the year SIBA's members voted to revise the organization's bylaws and expand the definition of core member bookstores to include a broader range of business models, including pop-ups, bookmobiles, and online bookstores. Members also voted to expand the SIBA Board from five to seven to better represent the range -- in both geographic and business model -- of SIBA's membership. Thanks to the ongoing enthusiastic work of SIBA Membership Coordinator Candice Huber, SIBA's core membership is now at 228 bookstore members. That is a 30% increase in membership. Even better, the number of brand new stores joining SIBA for the first time continues to rise, an indication of the optimism and energy in the bookselling industry in the South. This increased membership has also translated into increased engagement in SIBA services and programs, such as the Summer and Winter Catalogs, and in attendance at SIBA events, such as March Madness and the New Voices New Rooms (NVNR) Annual Conference.

Events

SIBA hosted both virtual and in person events for its members in 2024. In the Spring there were the "Fireside Chats" on Discord, launched with Cheryl Lee of 44th and 3rd Booksellers, who discussed her experience attending the Frankfurt Bookfair as a recipient of a Books Across Borders Scholarship. Other virtual events included the quarterly NVNR Owners Retreats in partnership with NAIBA, and which centered around specific topics such as strategic closures and planned downtime, conference strategies and creative ideas to boost holiday sales. 15 SIBA booksellers also had a chance to pitch their bookstores to over 50 publicists and publisher representatives at the NVNR Publicity Speed Dating Event on Leap Day in February, showcasing the vitality of Southern bookstores.

SIBA reprised its successful in-person event programs, including March Madness, which saw 115 booksellers come together at eight different bookstores across SIBA territory to share their experience and ideas. And in May SIBA held its second Indie Press Social at Carmichael's Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky -- where booksellers got to spend a day talking to some of their favorite small publishers in a relaxed, casual setting. (Yes, there was bowling!).

The New Voices New Rooms Annual Conference returned to Arlington, VA for 2024, attended by over 100 booksellers from SIBA territory. Some of the highlights of the program included a tour of the Library of Congress and a Bookmobile Rally. The main focus of the event was on bookseller development and building professional relationships with booksellers and publishers.

Tools and Resources

The whole of SIBA was impacted when Hurricane Helene barreled through the middle of its territory and cause a wide swathe of destruction from which some areas are still recovering, even now. SIBA's main office and the home of Executive Director Linda-Marie Barrett in Asheville were cut off for a period of time and communication was challenging. Bookstores located in the paths of Helene and, a few weeks later, Milton experienced commincation interruptions and extended closures.

In the immediate aftermath, SIBA's staff started to reach out to all the bookstores in the storm's path. When it became clear that recovery would be a long process, SIBA created an information sharing hub to help bring together the bookstores and communities that needed help, and the many, many booksellers and book industry people who wanted to offer help.

That information hub was just the latest in a collection of tools and resources SIBA has been developing for its members. In the past year SIBA also expanded its Peer Bookseller Resource Library, a collection of tools created by, and used by, booksellers in their own store operations. During Banned Books Week, SIBA created a toolkit of tools in the Resource Library that was used by over 50 bookstores. And SIBA updated and streamlined its Financial Assistance and Scholarships hub, making it easier for booksellers to apply for financial assistance for SIBA programs, including travel grants to attend the NVNR fall conference. SIBA was able to award more than $12,000 in direct financial assistance to booksellers for education and professional development. SIBA offered 16 scholarships in 2024, a 60% increase over 2023. SIBA also became a sponsor of the Professional Booksellers School, and was able to offer discounts to members seeking education, as well as offering rebates on courses that receive certification.