ABA Winter Institute Off to a Great Start

As BTW arrives in your inbox today, more than 500 indie booksellers and guests from as far away as Norway and New Zealand are participating in the second day of the American Booksellers Association’s Sixth Annual Winter Institute [1]. We’re in Washington, D.C., along with other ABA staff members, 60 authors and illustrators [2], and representatives from lead event sponsor Ingram Content Group and Wi6’s publisher sponsors and friends [3].

In next week’s issue, and in the weeks to follow, we’ll be providing in-depth coverage of Wi6’s Legislative Day, keynote events, and educational programming. Here, in place of our usual issue, is a quick look at some of yesterday’s Legislative Day highlights, the opening reception at Politics & Prose, and this morning’s education day keynote.

Barbara Meade (right) with a Politics & Prose staff member at Tuesday night’s reception.

The Winter Institute kicked off on Tuesday night, January 18, with a “Welcome Reception,” hosted by Barbara Meade, co-owner with the late Carla Cohen, of Washington, D.C.’s Politics & Prose. Hundreds of booksellers, who reconnected and talked shop, streamed through the two-level bookstore throughout the night and were warmly welcomed by Meade and Politics & Prose staff members. A number of local authors who are friends of the store were also there. Among them were PBS’ Jim Lehrer and Roger Rosenblatt, George Pelecanos, Rick Atkinson, Louis Bayard, and Wil Haygood.

ABA President Michael Tucker welcomes booksellers to Wi6.

On Wednesday morning, ABA President Michael Tucker of San Francisco’s Books Inc. welcomed booksellers to Wi6’s Legislative Day on behalf of the ABA Board and staff. “I want to say how delighted we are that 500 indie booksellers are coming together to deepen our knowledge and to expand our business horizons,” Tucker said. “This year’s Winter Institute will offer more education than ever, special keynote sessions, and, of course, a remarkable opportunity to spend time with colleagues and friends from coast to coast.”

Noting that there would be no Winter Institute without the ongoing generosity of its sponsors, Tucker said, “Please join me in thanking our lead partner, the Ingram Content Group. Their continued, generous commitment to bookseller education allows ABA to offer year-round programming for our members, and to make low-cost hotel rates possible.” He also extended thanks to Wi6’s many publisher sponsors and other friends, “whose support does so much to enrich this event and helps keep the education sessions free to ABA members.” Tucker expressed ABA’s appreciation to Politics & Prose for hosting the previous evening’s Opening Reception, where, he noted, “many booksellers had a chance to greet old friends, and make new ones.”

ABA Vice President Becky Anderson revealed the new “Eat Sleep Read Local” poster and told booksellers about new plans for the “Snack Nap Read” poster.

ABA Vice President Becky Anderson of Anderson’s Bookshops in Naperville, Illinois, then told booksellers, who are currently renewing their membership dues, “As you’ll see when you renew your ABA membership, you’ll be asked if you’d like to join the ABC Children’s Group, which will receive all the benefits previously offered by [the Association of Booksellers for Children], and, for the first year, the $50 fee to join the group will be waived.” She noted, too, that those in the group would receive a fresh “Snack Nap Read” poster. Looking ahead, Anderson said, “The merger of ABC and ABA comes at a time when all independent booksellers need to unite our resources, passion, and expertise to build for our future. Speaking for ABA, we could not be more excited. Together we can take independent children’s bookselling to new heights and continued growth.”

In addition, Anderson said, “Because the [IndieBound] movement continues to grow and evolve, and because shopping local has become a focus nationwide – we’re introducing today a new poster that every ABA member will receive over the next few weeks. ‘Eat Sleep Read Local.’”

ABA CEO Oren Teicher, Rick Karp, Jakob Wolf-Barnett, and Wendy Hudson at the session “Indie Retail and Activism.”

Because of Wednesday’s vote in the House to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the order of Wednesday’s programming changed as Karen Mills, the head of the U.S. Small Business Administration, had an unexpected change in her schedule. So, the day’s programming began with the “Indie Retail and Activism” session, moderated by ABA CEO Oren Teicher, and featuring panelists Wendy Hudson, owner of Nantucket Bookworks in Nantucket, Massachusetts; Rick Karp, president of San Francisco’s Cole Hardware; and Jakob Wolf-Barnett, operations manager for Washington, D.C.’s Revolution Cycles. Although each panelist represented a different business, all agreed that consistent involvement with local community or other advocacy groups is critical. “No matter what size the pond, once you show up, you become a big fish,” said Karp.

PBS’ Jim Lehrer and Small Business Administrator Karen Mills.

Fresh from her meeting on the Hill, Administrator Mills came to the Winter Institute to be interviewed by PBS NewsHour’s Jim Lehrer. Lehrer’s questions zeroed in on what the SBA is doing for small businesses, or “tiny” businesses, as one bookseller said. “Since 1987, the number-one issue for small business has been affordable health care,” said Mills, who stressed to booksellers that the health care bill allows businesses with fewer than 25 employees to take a tax credit [4]. Mills also encouraged booksellers to take advantage of

ABA President Michael Tucker, ABA CEO Oren Teicher, and PBS’ Jim Lehrer.

the free counseling available to small business owners through the 900 Small Business Development Centers around the country, as well as the various SBA loan programs, now with a streamlined application process.

Following a boxed lunch, ABA CEO Oren Teicher introduced Barbara Meade of Politics & Prose and said that “so many of us had wished” that the late Carla Cohen could have been in attendance. Teicher said of Cohen, “She was an incredible force of nature, and her generosity and openness were legendary.”

Meade, who received a standing ovation from the booksellers in attendance, told the audience: “I’ve been channeling Carla during this winter workshop... I feel her presence very much.” Noting that both Carla and she were graduates of an ABA education program before they started Politics & Prose in 1984, Meade said, “I would like to think that we owe our success to ABA and its education program.”

Linda Bubon of Women & Children First shares tips and tactics with booksellers heading to Capitol Hill.

Teicher then moderated a panel that offered booksellers who were heading to Capitol Hill tips and tactics for holding successful meetings with their legislators. Featured speakers were Joe Rinzel, vice president, state government affairs, the Retail Industry Leaders Association; Linda Bubon, co-owner of Women and Children First in Chicago; and Chris Finan, president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression.

At 5:00 p.m. booksellers gathered in the Montpelier Room in the Library of Congress’ Madison Building for a reception, co-sponsored by the Center for the Book, in honor of NPR and its president and CEO, Vivian Schiller. Following a welcome by Librarian of Congress James H. Billington, ABA’s Teicher told the audience that among the many institutions in Washington, the one “that resonates with most of us, and that probably has more connection to our cashwrap than any other, is NPR.”

NPR’s Vivian Schiller and ABA CEO Oren Teicher at Wednesday’s reception at the Library of Congress, co-sponsored by the Center for the Book.

He then presented Schiller with a plaque from ABA that read: “In recognition of and with gratitude for NPR’s exemplary, comprehensive, and innovative coverage of books, authors, and the extraordinary power of literary expression.”

After accepting the honor, Schiller told the booksellers in attendance: “We share a deep passion for what you do … to celebrate and promote the joy of reading…. We air about 50 to 60 book-based radio stories and half that again if you include online. But even that is not enough. We at NPR intend to grow our coverage of books.”

And, she assured booksellers,“NPR is and will continue to be your steadfast partner in selling books for many, many years to come.”

At the start of Thursday’s programming Ingram’s Vice President of Sales Dan Sheehan announced to the 500 booksellers at the opening breakfast that Ingram would continue its commitment as the lead sponsor of ABA’s educational programming for the next three years. “The stronger you are, the better the industry is – and we all win,” he said. 

Bob Phibbs, The Retail Doctor,  explains how booksellers can use a stuffed pig to draw attention to store merchandise.

The Thursday morning keynote was presented by nationally recognized business strategist Bob Phibbs, author of The Retail Doctor’s Guide to Growing Your Business: A Step-by-Step Approach to Quickly Diagnose, Treat, and Cure (Wiley). Using props, including a pig, red ballons, paper airplanes, and a chocolate cake, Phibbs provided booksellers with practical tips to improve customer service and sales. And, he stressed, “Buy local means nothing if you don’t give customers a reason to shop with you.”

At Thursday’s lunch, ABA CEO Oren Teicher announced that just that morning he and the ABA Board had met with President Obama in the Oval Office for the presentation of the ABA White House Library, a wide selection of current titles, given to each presidential administration since 1929. Teicher told the booksellers that the President, “asked that that I say ‘thank you’ to all of you.” (Watch for more coverage in BTW, including the full list of titles in The White House Library.) 

Look for complete coverage of the Winter Institute, including in-depth coverage of Legislative Day and Wi6 education sessions, beginning in next Thursday’s edition of BTW. —Rosemary Hawkins [5] and Karen Schechner [6]