April Forum Stops Include Omaha & Syracuse

During the month of April, American Booksellers Association staff will be conducting five Booksellers Forums and education sessions [1] in locations across the country, concluding with programs in Omaha, Nebraska [2], and Syracuse, New York [3], on Saturday, April 21, and Wednesday, April 25, respectively. All members of ABA, the Midwest Booksellers Association, and the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association are invited to participate in the free programs.

Omaha, Nebraska

The program in Omaha, the second presented in conjunction with the Midwest Booksellers Association [4] (MBA) this year, will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Highlights of the day's programming include a Bookseller Forum & Strategic Planning Session, ABA's education sessions "Participating in the Digital Revolution" and "Handselling: Customer Service With Results," and MBA's "Let's Talk" Lunch and "Pick of the Lists." Following the program, participants are invited to a reception at Omaha's The Bookworm. The ABA program will be facilitated by ABA COO Oren Teicher and Len Vlahos, ABA's director of education and BookSense.com. Representing MBA will be Executive Director Susan Walker, Assistant Director Kati Gallagher, and members of the MBA Board.

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m., followed by "Participating in the Digital Revolution," presented by Vlahos, from 9:00 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. Every day, the news features stories about technology and how it is changing the ways people interact -- how they acquire and use information. This workshop will look at such phenomena as digitization of content, social networking, open source, and print-on-demand, as well as practical ways booksellers can make the most of these new technologies.

A breakout session, "It Works For Me," from 10:25 a.m. - 11:15 a.m., will provide booksellers with an opportunity to network and to continue discussions about technological issues.

From 11:25 a.m. - 12:25 p.m., booksellers will have the opportunity to have small group conversations about working relationships and industry topics with table-hopping publisher reps at MBA's "Let's Talk" Lunch. After lunch, the reps will offer their "Picks of the Lists" for spring and summer from 12:35 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

From 2:15 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. ABA's Teicher will present "Handselling: Customer Service With Results." Booksellers will learn how to implement and improve their handselling strategies to grow a store's reputation, energize staff, and increase sales. The focus will be on attracting and training good handsellers, integrating handselling into marketing efforts, and ensuring that customers walk away with a unique and positive shopping experience. Video vignettes will illustrate some do's and don'ts of handselling.

Following the education sessions, Teicher and Vlahos will facilitate the "Booksellers Forum & Strategic Planning Session," from 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. The Bookseller Forum provides an opportunity for members to receive updates on ABA's program and initiatives, as well as to voice concerns and to offer input on the future direction of the association, which is formulating a strategic plan for the next five years.

A reception, featuring guest authors, will be held from 5:45 p.m. - 7:15 p.m. nearby at The Bookworm.

To help with planning, ABA asks booksellers who will be attending the program to contact Margaret Nafz at margaret@bookweb.org [5] or (800) 637-0037, ext. 6614. Booksellers are encouraged to contact ABA's Teicher [6] and Vlahos [7] prior to the show with questions, suggestions, or comments. General questions and requests for information about the ABA program should be directed to Nafz.

Questions about MBA programming should be addressed to Susan Walker or Kati Gallagher at (612) 926-5868 or Umbaoffice@aol.com [8].

The Crowne Plaza Omaha -- Old Mill [9] is located at 655 North 108th Avenue; (402) 496-0850. The Bookworm [10] is at 8702 Pacific Street; (402) 392-2877.

Syracuse, New York

The Holiday Inn Carrier Circle will be the site of the April 25 ABA forum and education program in conjunction with the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association [11].

The program begins at 10:00 a.m. with the education session "Participating in the Digital Revolution," presented by ABA Information Director Dan Cullen. Booksellers will explore the ways in which technology is changing the ways people interact -- how they acquire and use information -- and practical ways that independent bookstores can make the most of these new developments. Topics will include digitization of content, social networking, open source, and print-on-demand.

Over a free lunch, from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., Cullen and ABA Membership Marketing Director Meg Smith will present information about the association's program and initiatives and gather input from booksellers to help ABA formulate its next five-year strategic plan. The forum format fosters discussion of regional and national issues affecting independent booksellers and provides a broader perspective on how individual stores fit into the larger industry.

From 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m., Smith will present "Handselling: Customer Service With Results," where the focus will be on attracting and training good handsellers, integrating handselling into marketing efforts, and ensuring that customers walk away with a unique and positive shopping experience. Implementing and improving handselling strategies can grow a store's reputation, energize staff, and increase sales. Video vignettes will illustrate some do's and don'ts of handselling.

To help with planning, ABA asks booksellers who will be attending the program to contact Margaret Nafz at margaret@bookweb.org [5] or (800) 637-0037, ext. 6614. Booksellers are encouraged to contact ABA's Cullen [12] and Smith [13] prior to the show with questions, suggestions, or comments. General questions and requests for information about the program should be directed to Nafz.

Questions about NAIBA should be addressed to the regional's executive director, Eileen Dengler, at (516) 333-0681 or info@naiba.com [14].

The Holiday Inn Carrier Circle [15] is located at 6555 Old Collamer Road South in East Syracuse; (315) 437-2761.