Reader Privacy and Gift Cards Focus of ABA/SCBA Forums

On Friday, February 20, and Saturday, February 21, ABA Booksellers Forums were held in conjunction with the Southern California Booksellers Association (SCBA) in Pasadena and San Diego, respectively. At both forums, ABA COO Oren Teicher provided attendees with updates on a number of ABA programs and initiatives, including the Book Sense Gift Card Program, the Campaign for Reader Privacy (www.readerprivacy.com/), and plans to celebrate the fifth birthday of Book Sense.

Pasadena Forum

SCBA President Lise Friedman of Dutton's Brentwood Books found the Pasadena forum, which was held at Vroman's Bookstore, a place to network with other booksellers. "I connected with people I haven't seen in a while, or didn't know," Friedman explained. "There's great value in getting people together. Though I've been to tons and tons of forums, it's always good to reconnect with other booksellers."

Friedman said that forum discussions touched on many different topics including the ins-and-outs of coordinating author readings, the benefits of the Book Sense marketing program including the monthly White Box mailings, and the new Book Sense Gift Card Program.

"Oren's presentation on gift cards made them very enticing," Friedman explained and added that Dutton's was looking into joining the program. Kerry Slattery of Skylight Books in Los Angeles shared her store's positive gift card experiences with the booksellers in attendance.

Clark Mason, controller of host bookstore Vroman's, said the forum was "great" and that quite a few stores of different sizes were represented. "There was a lot of good information exchanged," he said. "The forum brought to light things I need to work on, like LIBRIS [ABA's insurance program]. I need to talk with LIBRIS to get a bid." [For more about LIBRIS, click here.]

Mason also found Teicher's gift card presentation very informative. "The presentation was helpful," said Mason. "He answered my questions about the whole [gift card] program, including the fee structure and who holds the liability balance. He clarified a lot of issues." [For more about the Book Sense Gift Card program, click here.]

San Diego Forum

Robert Scott, owner of Comickaze in San Diego, told BTW that one valuable marketing tool he acquired from the San Diego forum at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel was the ability to offer his customers the option of plastic gift cards over paper certificates. "I've seen gift cards in other stores, not just bookstores," he explained about his motivation to join the Book Sense Gift Card Program. But with the resources of one store, Scott noted, he wouldn't have been able to implement a gift card program. With Book Sense, however, he can offer the marketable cards to his customers. "That's a big benefit to me," he said.

Another matter of interest to booksellers at the forum, said Scott, was the Campaign for Reader Privacy (CRP), the nationwide grassroots effort to restore safeguards for the privacy of bookstore and library records eliminated by Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act. The centerpiece of CRP is a petition drive that is being conducted in bookstores, libraries, and via the Web at www.readerprivacy.com. One store reported that they had already filled 15 petition pages, said Scott, who picked up petition pads at the forum to place at Comickaze's cashwrap.

Barbara Chambers of Bay Books in Coronado also mentioned the Campaign for Reader Privacy as one of the topics of discussion at the San Diego forum. At her store, petition pads are displayed at the cashwrap, and she leaves customers to discover them and sign if they're interested, she explained.

Overall, Chambers said of the San Diego forum, "It was a small crowd, but it went very well. It was intimate. We could discuss things informally." --Karen Schechner