Hilton Atlanta to Host Spring Book Show, ABA & SIBA Programs

Due to storm damage to Atlanta's Georgia World Congress Center, the American Booksellers Association Forum program, the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance education program, and the Spring Book Show have been moved to the Hilton Atlanta. The Spring Book Show runs from Friday, March 28, through Sunday, March 30, with SIBA programming on Friday and ABA's Booksellers Forum program on Saturday.

The move to the Hilton Atlanta (255 Courtland Street NE, 404-659-2000), which was already the event's host hotel, puts everything under one roof.

Here's a rundown of ABA and SIBA programming:

Friday, March 28

• 8:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.: SIBA's "Strength in Numbers," With Jeff Milchen, American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) Based on the Independent Business Alliance model successfully pioneered in Boulder, Colorado, and incorporating the experiences of subsequent efforts in other communities, this workshop introduces the benefits of building an alliance among community-based businesses, citizens, and community organizations in your home town and offers an introduction to how IBAs work.
• 10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.: SIBA's "EESY CHIT: Easy, Effective, Strategies That You Can Happily Implement Today" Presenter: SIBA and Page & Palette President Karin Wilson shares a treasure trove of great ideas that you can implement in moments with a great return on time invested. An idea-packed session not to be missed.
• Noon: Spring Book Show Opens
• 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.: SIBA Resource Roundtables
• 2:45 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.: SIBA's "Deeper Understanding Conversation With Robert Gray at Spring Book Show! What Do Baby Boomers Want (to Read)?" Call it a conversation starter for 2008.
  1. What are your thoughts about long-term marketing to Baby Boomers?
  2. By the year 2018, will boomers still be shopping in bricks-and-mortar bookstores or primarily online?

Saturday, March 29

• 9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.: ABA's "Booksellers at the Tipping Point: Leveraging Localism and Independence to Promote Your Store" The concepts of localism, independence, and sustainability are gaining traction with consumers. In this session, you'll hear how the retail marketplace has evolved to allow these phenomena to take root and grow, and will learn how to leverage and exploit these powerful tools to more effectively market and promote your store.
• 11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.: ABA Booksellers Forum Over Lunch ABA COO Oren Teicher and Chief Marketing Officer Meg Smith will provide members, and prospective members, with updates on association programs and initiatives, as well as an opportunity to voice concerns and offer input on the future direction of the association. Owners and store staff are encouraged to attend to gain a broader perspective on how their stores fit into the larger industry, as well as to exchange ideas with their fellow booksellers.

Questions about ABA programming should be addressed to sarah@bookweb.org; questions about SIBA programming should be addressed to info@sibaweb.com. For planning purposes, booksellers who will be attending the forum program are asked to RSVP to sarah@bookweb.org.