ABA Education

ABA hosts two education conferences per year. 

• Winter Institute: ABA's premiere four-day conference with a welcome reception, guest speakers, breakout education sessions, and author receptions. ABA’s 19th annual Winter Institute (Wi2024) will take place in Cincinnati, Ohio from February 11–14, 2024.
• Children's Institute: A three-day event offering unique education for children’s booksellers in addition to general education sessions, roundtable discussions, networking events, and author appearances. The 11th annual Children's Institute (Ci2023) will take place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from June 5-7, 2023.

Each institute is followed by a one-day virtual event with encore programming and networking opportunities.

Browse our collection of education videos recorded at ABA Institutes and virtual education sessions. 

The Bookstore Resource Library is a collection of customizable templates specifically designed for bookstores. From Consignment Applications to Daily Checklists, we’ve collected essential bookstore forms and documents that you can edit to meet the particular needs of your store.

Virtual meetups are an opportunity to network and learn from fellow booksellers on a range of topics relevant to bookselling today.

• Management Book Club: Join other bookstore managers and owners to discuss selected management books, share best practices in staff management, solicit advice on staff development, and grow their skills as leaders in their stores. The Management Book Club meets on the third Wednesday of every month at 3:00 pm ET. Register here.
• Monthly Education Meetups: ABA Education Meetups feature a rotating selection of bookstore education programming on the second Thursday of every month at 3:00 pm ET. Join us for virtual bookstore tours, bookseller lightning talks, and focused conversations on topics that will help your bookstore succeed. Register here.
• ShopTalk: Open conversation format to share best practices, talk about business, and crowdsource ideas & solutions to problems. Other ShopTalks are held throughout the year for smaller subsets of groups see the calendar for details. ShopTalks are held the first Tuesday of every month at 3 pm ET and the last Tuesday of the month at 10 pm ET. Register here.

Tune in to audio recordings from past ABA education sessions! New episodes will be added each month, so be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast app for updates when a new episode drops. 

Bookselling is a wonderful and fulfilling profession. Owning your own store may seem a natural and attractive idea if you love books; however, passion and knowledge have to be combined with business acumen if your bookstore is to succeed. Like any other retail business, you will have to meet the cost of rent, utilities, compensation, and payments to your vendors, all while striving to make your bookstore profitable. It's not always easy, but ABA and our community of booksellers and industry professionals are here to help you each step of the way. Our Opening a Bookstore Tool Kit includes information on Provisional ABA Membership, Prospective Booksellers School, and developing your business plan.