ABA, Ingram Announce Strategic Partnership

Ingram Book Group and Ingram Publisher Services to Underwrite Bookseller Education

The American Booksellers Association announced today the formation of a new strategic partnership with Ingram Book Company and Ingram Publisher Services to underwrite bookseller education for the next three years. The new partnership will begin with ABA's Day of Education being held in Hollywood, California, on Thursday, May 29, in conjunction with BookExpo America.

"We're thrilled to enter into this arrangement with Ingram," said ABA President Russ Lawrence, co-owner of Chapter One Bookstore in Hamilton, Montana. "Ingram continues to demonstrate its understanding that the entire industry benefits from well-educated independent booksellers. With Ingram's help, ABA will continue to focus on providing our members with the tools and information they need to succeed."

ABA presents education to booksellers at various events throughout the year, including the ABA Winter Institute, BookExpo America, regional bookseller association trade shows, and ABA's series of spring bookseller forums. Presentations cover a wide diversity of topics -- from seminars on increasing margin, to panel discussions on green retailing, to environmental scanning sessions on Radio Frequency ID tags (RFID), and more.

"We're proud to be associated with ABA's education program," said Skip Prichard, president and CEO of Ingram Book Group. "We've made an enormous commitment to independent bookstores by building one of the largest field sales forces in the industry. We believe that the partnership we're announcing today enhances those efforts."

"We present education to about 1,000 booksellers each year," noted Avin Mark Domnitz, ABA CEO. "This strategic partnership will help us extend that reach, and importantly, keep education free to ABA members. This relationship is a boon to both ABA and Ingram."

In addition to in-person learning opportunities, ABA provides a wealth of education content on its website, www.BookWeb.org. The materials include PDF handouts, in-depth articles, white papers, Excel worksheets for budgeting and monitoring, training videos, and more.