Event Policies

NEIBA Code of Conduct

The New England Independent Booksellers Association is an organization inclusive of all peoples, regardless of age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender identity. As such, we take safety and anti-harassment policies very seriously. All participants at NEIBA events are required to adhere to NEIBA's code of conduct, as described below. This includes booksellers, librarians, exhibitors, guests, sponsors, volunteers, and all affiliated attendees.

Nutshell

NEIBA is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, ethnicity, or religion (or lack thereof). We do not tolerate harassing behavior. Event participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled at the discretion of NEIBA organizers.

Specifics

NEIBA expects all participants to follow established rules throughout official event offerings and related social events. 

Prohibitive behavior includes offensive verbal comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, ethnicity, and religion; deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, sustained disruption of talks or other events; unwelcome photography or recording, physical contact, or sexual attention. 

Vendors, presenters, sponsors, and related guests are all subject to the anti-harassment policy. While NEIBA is committed to freedom of speech and expression, including open discussion of sexuality, prurient sexual imagery or language should not be a primary emphasis during presentations or when promoting products for distribution or sale. Similarly, the use of discriminatory language may be permissible, but only in the context of respectful discussion about associated topics.

Participants asked to cease any of the above described harassing behaviors are expected to comply immediately and may be expelled from a NEIBA event, without refund, at the discretion of the organizers. Offenders also risk having NEIBA membership and future participation privileges revoked.

If you are being harassed, observe someone else being harassed, or have concerns, please notify NEIBA event organizers Beth@neba.org and Elizabeth@neba.org immediately. We will be happy to assist with immediate intervention or escort and, when necessary, by contacting venue security or local law enforcement. We value your attendance and your well-being.

BE EXCELLENT TO EACH OTHER.

Antitrust Guidelines

The booksellers in the room (virtual or otherwise) are, by definition, competitors. This means that under the law, they are prohibited from discussing certain things.

Specifically:

There can be no discussions of price or pricing policies. Competitors are never allowed to agree on the price at which merchandise is sold, or discounts at which merchandise is offered. All discussions of price and pricing policies are strictly off-limits.

There can be no discussion of boycotts. Competitors cannot agree to cease doing business with any supplier for any reason. Nor can competitors agree to urge consumers to boycott a third competitor. It’s collusion, and is strictly prohibited.
There can be no discussion of dividing up a market. For example, if there are two booksellers in Boston, they cannot agree that one will market only to consumers north of the Charles River while the other markets only to customers south of the Charles River. This is also collusion and is prohibited.All three of these prohibitions come to us via the Sherman Antitrust Act, which carries treble damages and jail time.
All three are per se violations, which means it only has to be proved that you engaged in the activity—whether or not there was intent to harm, or actual harm caused—for you to be guilty of violating the law.