NEW YORK Through the first year of the pandemic, the country’s independent booksellers have so far avoided disaster. On Thursday, the American Booksellers Association told The Associated Press that membership increased from 1,635 to 1,701 since May 2020, the additions a combination of brand-new stores and existing stores that had not been part of the independents’ trade group. While association CEO Allison K. Hill and others had feared that hundreds of stores could go out of business during the 2020-21 holiday season, the ABA has tallied only 14 closings in 2021 so far, along with more than 70 last year. “It’s fair to say that it could have been much, much worse,” Hill said, describing the independent community as “bruised” but standing. Hill cited a few factors that helped compensate for pandemic-caused shutdowns and limited hours: PPP loans that enabled some owners to meet their payrolls, a surprisingly strong holiday season in December, increased online sales, an