More Forum Stops: Atlanta and Salt Lake City

During the last three weeks of March, ABA senior staff will be hosting Booksellers Forum programs in Brown Deer, Wisconsin; Atlanta, Georgia; Salt Lake City, Utah; Manhattan Beach, California; and Lake Forest Park, Washington. Last week, BTW presented details of the forum in Brown Deer [1], near Milwaukee. Here’s a look at what’s on tap in Atlanta and Salt Lake.

Atlanta, Georgia • Friday, March 25

In conjunction with the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance

Booksellers are invited to join ABA Content Officer Dan Cullen and Member Relationship Manager Elizabeth Nichols at the American Booksellers Association’s Spring Booksellers Forum, presented in conjunction with the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance [2], on Friday, March 25, at the Spring Book Show [3], in Atlanta, Georgia. ABA education at the forum is sponsored by the Ingram Content Group. The program will be held from 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. in the Cobb Galleria Center.

Here’s the schedule:

• Efficiency 101 – Getting Your Act Together: 8:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.
  In order to manage your business efficiently, you need specific organizational skills. This seminar will provide you with the right tools to evaluate how you spend your time and enable you to create personal systems that will keep you on the right track.

• ABA Booksellers Forum: 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
  Booksellers are invited to join in an open forum discussion of industry issues. ABA Board members and staff want to know what is on members’ minds, and the forum provides a direct way for the association to listen to booksellers’ concerns and to answer questions and exchange ideas on industry issues and the association’s programs and initiatives. Attendees are encouraged to come with questions and comments.

Both sessions will be held in Educational Seminar Room 102 at the Cobb Galleria Center.

Booksellers who are planning to attend ABA’s programming are asked to RSVP to Nichols via e-mail [4] or at (800) 637-0037, ext. 6614.

Visit the websites of the Spring Book Show [5] and SIBA [6]for details about the  full schedule of educational seminars.

Salt Lake City, Utah • Tuesday, March 29

In conjunction with the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association

Booksellers are invited to join ABA CEO Oren Teicher at ABA’s Booksellers Forum, presented in conjunction with the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association [7], on Tuesday, March 29, in Salt Lake. The program will be held from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. in Room 229 of Orson Spencer Hall on the University of Utah Campus (260 South Central Campus Drive, Salt Lake City) and will include lunch. ABA education at the forum is sponsored by the Ingram Content Group.

Here’s the schedule:

• Sales Tax Workshop: 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
  The fight for sales tax equity is going strong throughout the country and picking up steam. In an effort to move this issue forward in Utah, ABA has organized a sales tax fairness workshop for booksellers and other independent retailers in the state. ABA CEO Oren Teicher will provide an overview of local sales tax fairness efforts, why they are important to retailers, and what Utah retailers can do to help advocate on behalf of this important issue.

• ABA Booksellers Forum and Lunch: 11:45 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
  Booksellers are invited to join ABA for lunch, an open forum, and a discussion of industry issues. The forum provides a direct way for ABA to learn about booksellers’ concerns and to answer questions and exchange ideas on industry issues and association programs and initiatives. Attendees are encouraged to come with questions and comments.

For planning purposes, booksellers are asked to contact ABA Member Relationship Manager Elizabeth Nichols via e-mail [4] or at (800) 637-0037, ext. 6614, to let her know which sessions they are planning to attend.

Save the Date

Booksellers in Southern California and the Pacific Northwest should be on the lookout for e-mail invitations coming from ABA in the next week or so with full details about these upcoming forums:

• Manhattan Beach, California • Wednesday, March 30: A Spring Booksellers Forum will be held in conjunction with the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association [8] Spring Meeting at the Manhattan Beach Marriott. The program will feature roundtable discussions, an ABA Booksellers Forum and lunch, a panel on e-fairness and sales tax in California, and authors.

• Lake Forest Park, Washington • Thursday, March 31: A Spring Booksellers Forum program will be held in conjunction with the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association [9] and Above the Treeline [10] at Third Place Book [11]s in Lake Forest Park.

Watch for further details on these and all upcoming forums [12] in Bookselling This Week.