IOBA Expands Its International Presence
March 14 2014—by Gabe Konrád—The Independent Online Booksellers Association (IOBA) has taken another step in cementing its status as an international booksellers’ trade organization with the election of William Knox, the Malaysian-based founder of The Penang Bookshelf, as its president.
Knox’s path to becoming a bookseller was long and varied, including a career as a lawyer and a peace worker during the Sri Lankan civil war, but he has made himself right at home specializing in fiction and non-fiction about an from Malaysia and other parts of Asia. The ethical responsibilities of the IOBA is what drew Knox to the organization, and with his election he vows to keep IOBA grounded in its ethical principals while exploring ways to make the association more valuable to its member booksellers. “I would like to build on what IOBA has already achieved in internationalizing its membership,” said Knox in a recent statement, “and to improve the education of that membership.”
In addition to Mr. Knox, Chris Volk of Bookfever.com in Ione, California, was elected as Vice-President; Mark Lambert of Cereal City Books in Battle Creek, Michigan, retained his seat as Secretary; Sharon Eisenberg of CE Ranch Books in Conrad, Montana, was elected Treasurer: and two new Members-at-Large were elected, Betty Kilner of Ainsworth Books in Delta, British Columbia, Canada, and Andrea Tomberg of Tomberg Rare Books in Greenwich, Connecticut.
IOBA is an international trade organization for internet booksellers whose 300+ members represent twelve countries on five continents. IOBA offers opportunities for continuing education, mentoring, scholarships, and provides a forum to network with colleagues and discuss issues that affect us all, worldwide—all with the goal of making the internet a better, safer place to sell, and buy, books. When you join IOBA, you are strengthening the ranks of a trade association that preserves traditional bookselling standards and traditions while embracing new technologies.
For more information on the IOBA, membership details, and the IOBA’s independent bookselling platform, please visit http://www.ioba.org/pages/.
