A Preview of the NEIBA, PNBA, and GLIBA Trade Shows

The New England Independent Booksellers Association (NEIBA), Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (PNBA), and Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association (GLIBA) trade shows, which take place October 12 - 14, October 13 - 15, and October 14 - 16respectively, will provide members with a full range of educational programming, author events, and networking opportunities.

American Booksellers Association staff will be at each regional to present educational programming and to meet with booksellers on the trade show floors, where they’ll be signing up non-members for a special free trial membership. The special offer is open to any regular bookstore that hasn’t been an ABA member in the past two years. The trial runs from the fall until January 31, 2012, and includes all the benefits of membership: an invitation to Winter Institute 7 in New Orleans, access to IndieCommerce and Google eBooks™, IndieBound DIY files and in-store POS, the Book Buyer’s Handbook, and all of the additional members-only resources of ABA.

Key among ABA’s offerings at the shows is a special presentation in conjunction with staff from the U.S. Small Business Administration that will explain how indie booksellers can take advantage of SBA’s services, including how to have the best chance possible of securing loans and lines of credit.

New England Independent Booksellers Association: October 12 - 14, in Providence, Rhode Island [1]

“I got tired of the steady drumbeat this spring and summer – Do bookstores have a future? What’s going to happen to bookstores? What’s going to happen to books?” said NEIBA Executive Director Steve Fischer. “In response to that, we’ve organized a Plenary Session called ‘The Bookstore of the Future.’ We are an organization whose mission is to keep bookstores alive so it makes sense that we be the ones that envision our future — Be the Change. The panelists are Gayle Shanks, Carl Lennertz, John Mendelson, Jeffrey Mayersohn, and the moderator is Becky Anderson.”

NEIBA will also be honoring Howard Frank Mosher, who will receive the President’s Award.

Following the Plenary Session, attendees will all gather in one room for a two-hour session called “A Moveable Feast of Ideas: 9 Tables. 9 Topics. 2 Hours.” Each table will feature a topic and one or two colleagues who are experts in that topic. Topics include Staff Motivation, Merchandising, Discounting and Loyalty Programs, Events, and Communicating Your Value to Your Customers. “I think we often leave very interesting and provocative sessions and don’t get time to process this with our colleagues, so this is an opportunity for that,” said Fischer. “It could be a bit of a mash-up, but we learn so much from talking with each other we thought we’d try this approach.”

The show will also include educational sessions on selling non-book, used books, and remainders, and marketing for print and e-books.

In addition to its session in conjunction with the Small Business Administration, ABA will present “Introducing the ABC Group at ABA” and the “Bookstore Self Audit”. Representing ABA at the show will be President Becky Anderson, Membership and Marketing Officer Meg Smith, Member Relationship Manager Kaitlin Pitcher, and Technology Director Matt Supko.

The full trade show schedule is available on the NEIBA website [2], but here’s a look at ABA programming at the show on Thursday, October 13:

• Bookstore Self Audit: A Critical Look at Your Own Operations: 10:15 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
  ABA staff and a panel of booksellers will walk participants through a store “self audit.” Learn how to evaluate your store from the perspective of your customers -- focusing on ambiance, convenience, financial health, inventory and selection, and marketing and service -- and hear how to use the audit to identify where to focus your resources to make your business more customer-friendly.

• What can the SBA do for your bookstore?: 2:15 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
  The resources of the U.S. government’s Small Business Administration (SBA) offer a wide range of assistance to new and established booksellers, including loans, loan guarantees, business counseling, and other forms of support. ABA and SBA have established a strategic alliance in order to streamline the delivery of SBA services, improve communications, and help ensure that booksellers seeking working capital have the best chance possible of securing loans and lines of credit. Come to this session, introduced by ABA, and hear directly from SBA representatives about the programs and opportunities for booksellers. There will also be an opportunity to meet one-on-one with SBA staff.

Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association: October 13 - 15, Portland, Oregon [3]

“Although the October PNBA will not break new ground with its offerings, it will be the most ambitious show that we have produced in many years,” said PNBA Executive Director Thom Chambliss. “We will feature 24 separate educational sessions [4] on Thursday, October 13, while the sales reps [5] are setting up their exhibits [6], including four sessions specifically for librarians, four for authors, and four for small press publishers, as well as our usual nine for retail booksellers. The show will truly be a Northwest book industry event.”

Chambliss said that while industry buzz emphasizes e-books and e-readers, and while PNBA will offer members e-book education and a Saturday “Petting Zoo” to learn more about those devices, the show will again feature content over delivery device. “Connecting authors with booksellers is the biggest part of our shows and will continue to be for the immediate future,” he said. “This year our author events are literally stuffed with interesting new and famous authors, from the Celebration of Authors [7] on Thursday lunch, to the Nightcapper [8] party that evening, the two wonderful Book & Author Breakfasts [9], our traditional Author Feast [10] on Friday night, and concluding with a Children’s Author lunch [9] on Saturday.”

Booksellers are eager to meet with as many publishers and their reps as possible, to hear from more than 100 featured authors, and to talk with their colleagues about the inventive ways they are all working to enhance community awareness and participation, he said. “Independent bookselling is forging ahead in the Pacific Northwest.”

In addition to ABA’s session in conjunction with the Small Business Administration, ABA Content Officer Dan Cullen will present a session that will update booksellers on the new ABC Group at ABA, and he will moderate a panel of booksellers who will discuss conducting a bookstore self audit. Also representing ABA at the show will be ABA Senior Customer Service Representative Scott Nafz.

The full trade show schedule is available on the PNBA website [11], but here’s a look at ABA programming at the show on Thursday, October 13:

• Introducing the ABC Group at ABA: 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
  The children’s book market is one of the most vibrant and growing categories in bookselling. Come hear some relevant data based on the recent Bowker/PubTrack survey that supports this, and learn how you can use your member benefits to better market your store to increase sales.
   
• What can the SBA do for your bookstore?: 10:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
  The resources of the U.S. government’s Small Business Administration (SBA) offer a wide range of assistance to new and established booksellers, including loans, loan guarantees, business counseling, and other forms of support. ABA and SBA have established a strategic alliance in order to streamline the delivery of SBA services, improve communications, and help ensure that booksellers seeking working capital have the best chance possible of securing loans and lines of credit. Come to this session, introduced by ABA, and hear directly from SBA representatives about the programs and opportunities for booksellers. There will also be an opportunity to meet one-on-one with SBA staff.
   
• Bookstore Self Audit: A Critical Look at Your Own Operations: 2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
  ABA staff and a panel of booksellers will walk participants through a store “self audit.” Learn how to evaluate your store from the perspective of your customers — focusing on ambiance, convenience, financial health, inventory and selection, and marketing and service — and hear how to use the audit to identify where to focus your resources to make your business more customer-friendly.

Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association: October 14 - 16, Dearborn, Michigan [12]

For this year’s show, “our overall focus is on ways to help our stores fill a variety of needs in their communities,” said GLIBA Executive Director Deb Leonard. The keynote speaker is Kelly Gallagher, vice president of publisher services at Bowker, who will present a session called “Bookselling by the Numbers.” GLIBA has invited more sidelines vendors, both for adults and children, and will have education sessions addressing social networking and e-books, as well as ones on paperless ordering and outsourcing. 

In addition to ABA’s session in conjunction with the Small Business Administration, ABA’s education will include “Introducing the ABC Group at ABA” and the “Bookstore Self Audit.” Representing ABA at the show will be President Becky Anderson and CEO Oren Teicher.

The full trade show schedule is available on the GLIBA website [13], but here’s a look at ABA programming at the show on Friday, October 14:

• Introducing the ABC Group at ABA: 10:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
  The children’s book market is one of the most vibrant and growing categories in bookselling. Come hear some relevant data based on the recent Bowker/PubTrack survey that supports this, and learn how you can use your member benefits to better market your store to increase sales.
   
• Bookstore Self Audit: A Critical Look at Your Own Operations: 1:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
  ABA staff and a panel of booksellers will walk participants through a store “self audit.” Learn how to evaluate your store from the perspective of your customers — focusing on ambiance, convenience, financial health, inventory and selection, and marketing and service — and hear how to use the audit to identify where to focus your resources to make your business more customer-friendly.
   
• What can the SBA do for your bookstore?: 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
  The resources of the U.S. government’s Small Business Administration (SBA) offer a wide range of assistance to new and established booksellers, including loans, loan guarantees, business counseling, and other forms of support. ABA and SBA have established a strategic alliance in order to streamline the delivery of SBA services, improve communications, and help ensure that booksellers seeking working capital have the best chance possible of securing loans and lines of credit. Come to this session, introduced by ABA, and hear directly from SBA representatives about the programs and opportunities for booksellers. There will also be an opportunity to meet one-on-one with SBA staff.