ABA Hopes to See You at PNBA

The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Trade Show will be held from Thursday, September 10, through Saturday, September 12, at the Airport Holiday Inn in Portland, Oregon. And ABA CEO Oren Teicher and COO Len Vlahos will be there to present three educational offerings and to meet with booksellers on the trade show floor.

ABA's Thursday education sessions, open to all PNBA attendees, are:

• 9:00 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.: Conversation on Local First Campaigns in the Pacific Northwest (Salon A)
  Aimed at all booksellers interested in this topic
  Not only do locally owned businesses have a far greater economic impact on their communities than do national chains, there is growing evidence that by working with other independently owned businesses in your town or city, your store can become more profitable. Hear success stories from the Pacific Northwest, and learn about the important role that bookstores can play in the creation of independent business alliances and in convincing more and more consumers to shop locally. Moderated by ABA CEO Oren Teicher.

• 10:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.: Going Digital: The Case for E-Books (Salon A)
  Aimed at all booksellers interested in this topic
  The industry has been hyping e-books since the late 1990s. But the reality might finally be outpacing the hype. E-book sales are growing at 150 percent or more each month, and consumer interest has been piqued by the iPhone, Kindle, and Sony eReader. Come hear a presentation on how and why the e-book phenomenon is real and happening now. Presented by ABA COO Len Vlahos.

• 4:00 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.: Social Media & The Independent Bookseller (Salon A)
  Aimed at booksellers of all levels who are interested in social media
  Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, and other social networking sites have fundamentally changed the way people approach not only their private lives, but also their business transactions. Social media networks are not the wave of the future -- they are the wave of the now; in today's connected world you are no longer building relationships with "customers" but with "friends." Come hear a discussion on these topics, and leave with a greater understanding of where this paradigm shift is taking small business. Moderated by ABA COO Len Vlahos.

Also on Thursday from 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m., Above the Treeline founder and president John Rubin will present "Edelweiss: Interactive Online Publisher Catalogs" in Salon A. Attendees will learn how to use this free product to easily customize publishers' e-catalogs to plan, budget, and control lists of forthcoming titles. PNBA highly recommends this session for all store owners, managers, and buyers, as well as for acquisitions librarians.

Booksellers are encouraged to stop by the ABA tables on the show floor to discuss their concerns with Teicher and Vlahos and to find out about ABA programs and services that can help them better manage their businesses. In addition, ABA is offering booksellers attending regional shows an extra chance at winning one of more than two-dozen publisher-sponsored scholarships to the Fifth Annual Winter Institute, to be held at the Doubletree San Jose in San Jose, California, from February 3 - 5, 2010. Scholarship winners will be selected from among all ABA bookseller members, with booksellers dropping off a business card at the ABA booth at the regional shows earning an extra entry in the scholarship drawings. Scholarships cover the cost of reasonable airfare, up to a four-night hotel stay at the Doubletree San Jose, and Wi5 meal fees.

For the latest PNBA program details, including participating authors, and to register, visit pnba.org.