Education

In celebration of Small Business Week, from May 20 - 22 the Small Business Administration will be offering educational programming on social media, federal contracting, selling to large companies, and business matchmaking with major corporations and government agencies.

In conjunction with recent Booksellers Forums in Illinois and Massachusetts, ABA convened task forces to gather member input on its digital initiatives and educational programming, respectively.

ABA has extended registration for the Children’s Institute at BookExpo America until May 11. An additional but limited number of spaces at the June 6 day-long event are now open exclusively to booksellers at ABA member stores; they are expected to sell out quickly.

Provisional booksellers and employees of regular member stores can still register for ABA’s free, full-day seminar “How to Succeed at Retail Bookselling: Introduction to the Bookstore Business,” to be held on Sunday, June 3 — the day before ABA’s Day of Education and the opening of BookExpo America.

ABA is offering the free, full-day seminar “How to Succeed at Retail Bookselling: Introduction to the Bookstore Business” in New York City on Sunday, June 3, the day before ABA’s Day of Education and the opening of BookExpo America.

Award-winning, bestselling author Richard Russo will be the featured speaker at the opening plenary session at ABA’s Day of Education, on Monday, June 4, at BEA. Also participating in the hour-long, interview-style opening event will be noted broadcaster and author Lynn Sherr.

Registration for the ABC Children’s Institute is open exclusively to ABA member booksellers and limited to 150 people. Registration will close once the limit is reached or by May 1, whichever comes first.

ABA is inviting prospective booksellers to a free, full-day seminar, “How to Succeed at Retail Bookselling:  Introduction to the Bookstore Business,” on Sunday, June 3, in New York City. The program is open exclusively to ABA provisional members and employees of ABA regular member stores.

ABA will hold its 2012 Day of Education on Monday, June 4, during BEA at New York’s Javits Convention Center. The free program, sponsored by the Ingram Content Group, is targeted at ABA bookstore and provisional members but is open to all trade show attendees.

The Children’s Institute combines ABA’s in-depth education sessions and roundtable discussions, which are free and open to all ABA member booksellers, with a specially priced package of popular author events.

Registration for the first-ever American Booksellers Association ABC Children’s Institute is now open to booksellers at all ABA member bookstores. The daylong program of learning, networking, and festivities focusing on children’s books and bookselling will take place on Wednesday, June 6, at BEA.

Updated March 5, 2012:     The first-ever American Booksellers Association ABC Children’s Institute will be held on Wednesday, June 6, at New York’s Javits Convention Center during BookExpo America 2012.

Booksellers who participated in last month’s Winter Institute are being asked to provide honest feedback to help the American Booksellers Association continue to develop and improve the annual event.

Any bookseller currently in business will tell you that retail bookselling requires knowledge specific to the book industry as well as the necessary skills to run a successful small business. Two pitfalls that prospective booksellers should avoid is lack of training and inadequate funding.

Booksellers at Wi7 were divided into 22 working groups, each formulating plans for the future of a case study bookstore. The results of their work were synthesized by ABA staff and presented by Dan Sheehan, vice president of sales and general manager of the Ingram Content Group.