ABA Invites Booksellers to Come Together in Massachusetts and Texas

As part of its continuing series of Booksellers Forums, ABA recently sent invitations to booksellers in the New England and Mid-South regions asking them come together to share in discussions of matters of concern to all booksellers and to get an update on ABA programs and services. Among the topics open for discussion are sales tax initiatives, efforts to amend the USA Patriot Act, net-pricing proposals, programming for BookExpo America, Book Sense and plans for its fifth birthday celebration, the 2004 ABACUS study, and more.

On Wednesday, March 10, in conjunction with the New England Booksellers Association (NEBA), ABA will hold a forum in Brookline, Massachusetts, from 11:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. at the Brookline Booksmith. And on Tuesday, March 16, in conjunction with the Mid-South Independent Booksellers Association (MSIBA), a forum will take place at Brystone Children's Books in Fort Worth, Texas.

Programming will run from 10:30 a.m. - 3:15 p.m. Booksellers attending the Fort Worth forum can combine the trip with a visit to the Dallas Market Center, the world's largest wholesale merchandise resource, which is being held from March 13 - 16.

ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz and COO Oren Teicher will moderate the roughly half-day of programming at the forums, and lunch will be provided.

Programming begins with a Book Sense gift card demonstration, explaining how the gift card works and how easy it is to get started. Presentations will include specific case studies of bookstores' experiences this past holiday season.

Following the forums, Domnitz will be available for one-on-one meetings with booksellers to demonstrate how easy it is to submit financial information to the ABACUS study, an invaluable tool for those seeking to improve store operations. (For more information about ABACUS, click here. To make an appointment for a 15 - 20 minute meeting with Domnitz, send an e-mail to avin@bookweb.org.)

In Forth Worth, MSIBA will be offering an afternoon of activities, too. Deb Lewis, adult hardcover inside sales representative for the Penguin Group, will give a presentation on Penguin’s Business to Business (B to B) Program, to be followed by a hands-on seminar on store displays with new merchandise presented by Dana Harper of Brystone Children's Books.

Booksellers planning to attend any of the forums are asked to RSVP to ABA's Kristen Gilligan at (800) 637-0037, ext. 1286 or at kristen@bookweb.org.

Booksellers attending a forum will be entered into a drawing to win hotel accommodations and admission to BookExpo America for the next five years.
Below is an outline of programming for each of the forums.

For the complete Winter/Spring 2004 ABA Booksellers Forum schedule, click here.

Wednesday, March 10, 2004
11:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Brookline Booksmith
279 Harvard St.
Brookline, MA 02446
(617) 566-6660
http://brookline.booksense.com

• 11:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m. -- Book Sense Gift Card Demonstration
  
• Noon - 1:45 p.m. -- ABA/NEBA Open Forum
  
• 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. -- One-on-One ABACUS Tutorials
  

Tuesday, March 16, 2004
10:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Brystone Children’s Books
6101 Watauga Rd.
Fort Worth, TX 76148
(817) 656-9070
http://brystone.booksense.com

• 10:30 a.m. - 11:15 p.m. -- Book Sense Gift Card Demonstration
  
• 11:15 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. -- ABA/MSIBA Open Forum
  
• 1:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. -- Penguin’s Business to Business (B to B) Program
  
• 2:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. -- Hands-on Seminar on Store Displays