Forums

The Upper Midwest Booksellers Association's (UMBA) Spring Meeting and Seminar was held from April 13 to 14 at the Edgewater Hotel in Madison, Wisconsin. The well-attended event included an ABA Booksellers Forum, a booksellers’ roundtable on co-op advertising, and an author/publisher cocktail party on Saturday; it finished on Sunday with a financial seminar led by ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz from 9:00 a.m to noon.

Over 20 booksellers attended an ABA Booksellers Forum on April 11 from 10:00 a.m. to noon in the Writers and Readers Room at Brookline Booksmith in Brookline, Massachusetts. Held in conjunction with the New England Booksellers Association (NEBA), the forum covered a wide range of issues, including ABA’s future goals, the recent Tattered Cover court victory, and questions regarding music royalties.

On April 9, there was an ABA Booksellers Forum held in conjunction with a day of educational panels organized and sponsored by the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA) in Philadelphia. Attending the forum from ABA was association CEO Avin Mark Domnitz, who was joined by ABA Board member John Bennett, co-owner of Bennett Books in Wyckoff, New Jersey, and ABA Bookseller Advisory Council member Beth Puffer of Bank Street Books in New York City.

San Francisco’s Golden Gate Club in the Presidio was the site of the April 7, ABA Booksellers Forum, which was organized in conjunction with the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (NCIBA) Spring Workshops. According to Hut Landon, NCIBA executive director, the confluence of workshops with the forum drew a particularly large audience for both.

On Saturday, April 6, approximately 30 booksellers attended an ABA Booksellers Forum, in conjunction with the Southern California Booksellers Association’s Spring Workshop, held at the U.S. Grant Hotel -- a Wyndham Historic Hotel in San Diego, California, from noon to 2:00 p.m.

From Saturday, April 6, to Saturday, April 13, ABA will be hosting six Booksellers Forums in conjunction with regional booksellers association meetings around the country. The forums provide ABA members an opportunity to meet with representatives of the ABA Board and senior staff to discuss issues relating to ABA and bookselling in general. It’s a chance to ask questions, express opinions, and hear from bookseller-colleagues.

Just the Facts … on Making the Most of the BTW Search Engine

The new online version of Bookselling This Week includes a search engine that enables readers to find previously published stories, to research topics, and to quickly access stories within several key categories.

Last weekend was a busy one for the ABA. On Friday, March 22, booksellers gathered for a Booksellers Forum and financial seminar, held in conjunction with the Mountains and Plains Booksellers Association (MPBA) Spring Meeting, at the Marriott Downtown in Albuquerque, New Mexico; and on Saturday, March 23, over 35 booksellers attended a forum and Book Sense seminar, held in conjunction with the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Spring Trade Show, at the Coeur D’Alene Resort in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho.

There will be a number of ABA Booksellers Forums in the upcoming weeks. The forums are open meetings where ABA members can meet and talk with representatives of the ABA Board and association senior staff to discuss pertinent ABA- or industry-related issues.

At press time, forums were scheduled for:

The Idea Exchange on ABA’s Web site, www.BookWeb.org, provides forums for booksellers to exchange ideas with colleagues and to express opinions to, and ask questions of, ABA staff and Board members. This area is only accessible to ABA bookstore members who have registered a login name and password. To register for the online forums and for access to all restricted areas of BookWeb.org, booksellers may simply click here for an online registration form.

ABA bookstore members in the Great Lakes, Mountains and Plains, and Pacific Northwest regions will have the opportunity to talk with representatives of the ABA Board and senior staff at Booksellers Forums held in conjunction with regional booksellers association meetings in March. Booksellers are encouraged to come to ask questions, express opinions, and hear from their colleagues. This year, members have the chance to offer input into ABA’s new strategic plan, as priorities and new directions for the Association are developed.

On Tuesday, February 12, approximately 20 booksellers attended a Booksellers Forum held at the Westford Regency, in Westford, Massachusetts, from 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. The Booksellers Forum followed a meeting of the New England Booksellers Association Advisory Council.

On Thursday, February 7, about 30 booksellers attended an ABA Booksellers Forum at Weber’s Inn in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Representing ABA at the forum were Avin Mark Domnitz, ABA CEO; Len Vlahos, director of BookSense.com; and Karl Pohrt, ABA Board member, from Shaman Drum Bookshop in Ann Arbor. Among the key topics discussed at the forum were ABA’s new strategic plan and BookSense.com’s new marketing initiative.

On Tuesday, February 12, there will be an ABA Booksellers Forum from 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. in Westford, Massachusetts. The forum will provide ABA member booksellers an opportunity to meet and talk with ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz, ABA COO Oren Teicher, and Len Vlahos, director of BookSense.com. The forum will follow the New England Booksellers Association Advisory Council meeting and will be held at the Westford Regency, 219 Littleton Road, Westford, Massachusetts [(978) 692-8200].

On February 7, in conjunction with the Great Lakes Bookseller Association, the American Booksellers Association will be conducting the first of two booksellers forums scheduled for the Great Lakes area in the upcoming months. The forum will provide ABA member booksellers an opportunity to meet and talk with ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz and Len Vlahos, director of BookSense.com. It will be held from 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. in the Century Ballroom of Weber's Inn, 3050 Jackson Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan [(734) 769-2500].