ABA Booksellers Forum to Be Held in Washington, D.C.

On Wednesday, February 25, in conjunction with the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA), ABA is holding its Bookseller Forum at Olsson's Books & Records in downtown Washington, D.C. Olsson’s is centrally located, with convenient access by car or public transportation.

The forum will offer members opportunities to learn about Book Sense at Five plans as well as to meet with ABA's CEO Avin Mark Domnitz and COO Oren Teicher. The half-day of programming (11:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.) will begin with a Book Sense Gift Card demonstration and will be followed by an open forum to discuss whatever issues are on booksellers' minds relating to ABA, Book Sense, and bookselling in general. Forum attendees will have a chance to ask questions, express opinions, and hear from their bookseller colleagues. Over the years, these forums have provided very constructive input from members and have been indispensable in shaping future programs and initiatives of the association.

Immediately following the forum, Domnitz will be available for one-on-one meetings to show attendees how to easily submit information to the ABACUS study, an invaluable tool for those seeking to improve store operations. (For more information on ABACUS, please go to http://www.bookweb.org/education/abacus) If you'd like to schedule a time to meet with Domnitz in Washington, DC, please e-mail him directly at avin@bookweb.org.

Additionally, ABA is holding a bookseller contest as part of ABA's Book Sense At Five plans, which booksellers can enter by attending one of ABA's Bookseller Forums, or by voting for the "Best Books: The Best of Book Sense From the First Five Years." The Grand Prize is hotel accommodations and admission to BookExpo America for the next five years for one lucky bookseller. The contest is open to all employees of any ABA bookstore member. Entry forms and ballots will be provided, but are also available online at http://www.bookweb.org/read/6665.

Here are the details for the ABA/NAIBA Booksellers Forum:

Wednesday, February 25, 2004
11:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
The Lansburgh Building -- Jupiter Room on 2nd Floor (next to Olsson's Books & Records)
420 7th St. (Use 7th Street Entrance next to bookstore as there are multiple entrances.)
Washington, DC 20004
Tel: (202) 638-7610

• 11:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. -- Come early and see a demonstration of the new Book Sense Gift Card Program ... how it works and how easy it is to get started, along with some specific case studies from those bookstores that converted from paper to plastic this past holiday season.
  

• 12:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. -- ABA/NAIBA Open Forum. Your chance to hear and talk about current industry issues as well as ABA/NAIBA programs and services. Sales taxes; USA Patriot Act repeal; net-pricing proposals; BEA; Book Sense (it's our 5th birthday, by the way!); ABACUS; LIBRIS; and more. Lunch will be provided. As in the past, these sessions are designed to talk about subjects on booksellers' minds...everything and/or anything you want to talk about.
  

• 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. -- Need help in submitting your ABACUS data? Bring your financial info with you and spend 15 to 20 minutes with Avin in a one-to-one tutorial, and he'll show you how easy it is! (To schedule a time to meet with Avin, please e-mail him at avin@bookweb.org.)
  

To RSVP or for more information, please contact Kristen Gilligan at ABA at (800) 637-0037, ext. 1286, or kristen@bookweb.org.