E-Books and Literacy to Highlight ABA Education at NCIBA & PNBA

American Booksellers Association staff will be at the mid-October shows of the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association [1] and the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association [2] to present two education sessions:

• “E-Books and Independent Bookstores” will provide an in-depth introduction to the Kobo eReading platform available to all ABA member stores. Under a recently announced agreement [3], ABA members will be able to offer their customers a full line of eReaders, eReading accessories, and eBooks from Kobo’s catalog of nearly three million titles. Session attendees will hear the latest updates and get an introduction to a digital solution that will support their bricks-and-mortar businesses. The session will include an opportunity for booksellers to ask questions.
   
• “Meeting the Literacy Needs of Your Community” will examine the role of children’s booksellers as literacy advocates. Attendees will learn how to look at both the literacy needs and existing efforts in their own communities to determine how best to help to those who need it most. Presented by the ABC Group at ABA.
  
  Check the regional websites for times and room numbers.

Attending the NCIBA trade show, which runs from Thursday, October 11, through Friday, October 12, at the South San Francisco Conference Center in South San Francisco, will be ABA Senior Program Officer Joy Dallanegra-Sanger, Content Officer Dan Cullen, and Member Relationship Manager Kaitlin Pitcher.

ABA staff at the PNBA show, to be held from Saturday, October 13, to Monday, October 15, at the Hotel Murano in Tacoma, Washington, will be Dallanegra-Sanger, Cullen, and Member Relationship Manager Nathan Halter [4].

ABA will also be staffing a booth on both trade show floors where booksellers can learn more about selling Kobo eBooks and eReaders [5] and how they can participate in Thanks for Shopping Indie [6], the first-ever multi-publisher print-book promotion exclusively for ABA member bookstores, starting on Small Business Saturday (November 24, 2012).

The ABA booth will also feature information about the Eighth Annual Winter Institute to be held in Kansas City, Missouri, in February 2013. Booksellers who drop off a business card at the booth will earn an extra entry in a sweepstakes to win a Wi8 scholarship, covering up to four nights’ accommodations at the host hotel, a maximum of $350 in travel expenses, and the $75 Wi8 meal fee.

Bookstores that have not been members of ABA in the prior two years can join at the regional trade shows and enjoy a complimentary trial membership until February 28, 2013. Trial membership includes all the benefits of regular ABA membership (except for the monthly White Box mailing). Benefits include the ability to join IndieCommerce, access to ABA Education, and a chance to register for the February 2013 Winter Institute in Kansas City (Wi8).

Questions about ABA at NCIBA should be addressed to Pitcher [7]; questions about ABA at PNBA should go to Halter [4].