Northern California Forum Entertains and Informs

On Sunday, April 2, at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, the American Booksellers Association held a Booksellers Forum and Education Program in conjunction with the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association's (NCIBA) Spring Gathering. About 85 booksellers from the region attended. Among the highlights were the inaugural presentation of ABA's "Handselling: Customer Service With Results" seminar and NCIBA-sponsored author readings featuring Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, Penguin Press) and Ayelet Waldman (Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, Doubleday).

Representing ABA at the meetings were CEO Avin Mark Domnitz, COO Oren Teicher, Board member Michael Tucker of Books Inc. in San Francisco, and Len Vlahos, director of BookSense.com and of ABA's education program.

"The Spring Gathering went very well," said NCIBA Executive Director Hut Landon. "I think the two ABA segments of our day were both really well received. I was really pleased that ABA presented a new education session. I think it's going to be a big hit at BEA.

"The authors gave spectacular readings. Michael Pollan talked about his new book about food, how it's grown, and its history. We used a local caterer and brought in locally grown organic food. Ayelet Waldman ... basically did a stand up comedy routine. The entire room was in hysterics."

Although Linda Higham of The Storyteller, a children's bookstore in Lafayette, has considerable experience handselling, she found the presentation of "Handselling: Customer Service With Results" very helpful. "I picked up good tips... which were backed up with statistics," she said of the session, which was presented by Domnitz with help from Casey Coonerty of Bookshop Santa Cruz.

Jim Walter of Healdsburg's Toyon Books also praised the session. "I wish I could have had the entire staff there," Walter said. "We talked about techniques for listening to customers so you can [formulate] the right questions that can help you steer them to the right books."

From Rakestraw Books in Danville, Michael Barnard said the session covered a lot of familiar material, but that it "helped to systematize it, to make it easier to pass on to [staff]." Barnard also mentioned that video scenarios illustrated points more clearly than a paper presentation could have.

Following the handselling session, during lunch, NCIBA Board and staff members offered updates on several of the regional's new programs, including the Peer Eye bookstore review, Books By the Bay literacy grants, and a series of bookstore tours.

The ABA Bookseller Forum, facilitated by Domnitz, Teicher, Vlahos, and Tucker, focused on several issues of concern to independents: Book Sense branding and marketing, the upcoming Legislative Day at BookExpo America, and working with other trade organizations.

The Storyteller's Higham was interested in the subject of marketing. "We talked about what we can do to make Book Sense branding work better. People mentioned reversing 'Book Sense: Independent Bookstores for Independent Minds' to put the 'Independent Bookstores for Independent Minds' first. Especially since it seems the public is catching on to supporting independent bookstores."

Higham was also intrigued by the ABA's inaugural BEA Legislative Day programming, which includes briefs on current public policy issues affecting the book industry and an opportunity to meet with senators and representatives. "It's a logical choice given the location of BEA this year," she said. "That's something that couldn't happen anywhere else."

Judy Wheeler, NCIBA vice president and owner of Towne Center Books in Pleasanton, told BTW that she was pleased to learn of ABA's initiatives with other trade organizations representing independent retailers. And referring to Teicher's report on "Buy Local" initiatives with the American Independent Business Alliance and the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, she said, "Now, there are so many grassroots efforts to buy from local independent businesses, and we all have a lot in common. The more the merrier."

About the Spring Gathering, Wheeler noted, "It's always great when we can meet one on one with members instead of sending out information in a newsletter. And I think having the [ABA] forum created a double reason for people to come. Attendance was good."

Hut Landon concurred and reported that combining the Spring Gathering with ABA's Booksellers Forum resulted in the largest turnout for the Gathering in many years. "Clearly ABA's presence and presentations were a big part of the success," he said. "It was really cool, and people felt really good about it." --Karen Schechner

Watch for a report on the Booksellers Forum and Education Program in conjunction with the Southern California Booksellers Association's Spring Meeting in next week's BTW.