ABA to Host Six Booksellers Forums From April 6-13

From Saturday, April 6, to Saturday, April 13, ABA will be hosting six Booksellers Forums in conjunction with regional booksellers association meetings around the country. The forums provide ABA members an opportunity to meet with representatives of the ABA Board and senior staff to discuss issues relating to ABA and bookselling in general. It’s a chance to ask questions, express opinions, and hear from bookseller-colleagues. In addition, the association is seeking bookseller input as it develops a new Strategic Plan that will provide the basis for the association’s direction over the next several years.

Prior to the forums in several locations, ABA will also be conducting a financial seminar, led by Avin Mark Domnitz, ABA CEO. The sessions, "Basic Bookstore Finances," will discuss operating within a system of financial controls to help predict performance and measure outcomes against those predictions, and cash flow control. Attendees will receive a computer disk with worksheets, which will help them integrate the session’s ideas into their businesses.

In conjunction with each of the Bookseller Forums, "BookSense.com Free Trial" demonstrations will also be held for ABA members who have signed up in advance. Since ABA first launched BookSense.com in a beta-test version in the summer of 2000, the product has undergone many changes, including the addition of a fast and effective keyword search, a local store affiliate program, the ability to add products to the database, and much more.

ABA is offering a five-month free trial to stores not currently participating. The purpose of the free trial is to encourage stores to take a first or second look at BookSense.com. A member of the BookSense.com staff will be signing stores up for the free trial and getting them started with the creation of their own BookSense.com Web site on site. For more details, or to set up a time to meet with BookSense.com staff, contact Len Vlahos, director of BookSense.com, at (800) 637-0037, ext. 1215, or len@booksense.com.

Saturday, April 6, in San Diego: In conjunction with the Southern California Booksellers Association’s Spring Workshop, ABA will hold a Booksellers Forum from noon to 2:00 p.m. at the US Grant -- A Wyndham Historic Hotel, 326 Broadway. ABA Board member Lilla Weinberger of Readers’ Books in Sonoma, California; ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz; and ABA COO Oren Teicher will attend. Lunch will be provided.

Sunday, April 7, in San Francisco: In conjunction with the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association Spring Workshops, ABA will hold a Booksellers Forum from noon to 2:00 p.m. at the Golden Gate Club in The Presidio, Fisher Loop, in San Francisco. ABA Board member Lilla Weinberger of Readers’ Books in Sonoma, California; Bookseller Advisory Council members Michael Tucker of Books Inc. in San Francisco and Dennis Ronberg of Linden Tree Records and Books in Los Altos; ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz; and ABA COO Oren Teicher will be present. Lunch will be provided.

A "Basic Bookstore Finances" Seminar will be held from 9:30 a.m. to noon.

Tuesday, April 9, in Philadelphia: In conjunction with the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association’s Spring Fling, ABA will hold a Booksellers Forum from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in the Library Lounge at the Union League of Philadelphia, 140 South Broad Street, (215) 563-6500. ABA Board member John Bennett of Bennett Books in Wyckoff, New Jersey; Booksellers Advisory Council member Beth Puffer of Bank Street Bookstore in New York; and ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz will be present.

Wednesday, April 10, in Dallas: In conjunction with the Mid-South Independent Booksellers Association, ABA will hold a Booksellers Forum from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at The Enchanted Forest Bookstore, 6333 East Mockingbird. ABA Booksellers Advisory Council member Michele Lewis of The Afro-American Book Stop in New Orleans will be present, as well as ABA COO Oren Teicher. Lunch will be provided.

Thursday, April 11, in Brookline, Massachusetts: In conjunction with the New England Booksellers Association, ABA will hold a Booksellers Forum from 10:00 a.m. to noon at the Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard Street, (617) 566-6660. ABA Board members Suzanne Staubach of UCONN Co-op in Storrs, Connecticut, and John Bennett of Bennett Books in Wyckoff, New Jersey; Bookseller Advisory Council member Dana Brigham of Brookline Booksmith; ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz; and ABA COO Oren Teicher will be present. Refreshments will be provided.

Saturday, April 13, in Madison, Wisconsin: In conjunction with the Upper Midwest Booksellers Association Spring Weekend, ABA will hold a Booksellers Forum from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Continental Room of The Edgewater, 666 Wisconsin Avenue, (800) 922-5512. ABA Vice President Ann Christophersen of Women & Children First in Chicago; Booksellers Advisory Council members Ellen Davis of Dragonwings Bookstore in Waupaca, Wisconsin, and Sandra Torkildson of A Room of One’s Own Bookstore in Madison; and ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz will attend.

A "Basic Bookstore Finances" seminar will be held from 9:00 a.m. to noon on Sunday, April 14, in the Atlantic-Mediterranean Room.

For more information about the Booksellers Forums, contact Kristen Gilligan at (800) 637-0037, ext. 1286 or by e-mail at kristen@bookweb.org.