Artificial Intelligence (AI) is knocking at your store’s front door. AI systems like ChatGPT are rapidly evolving. Start preparing now for the impact this technology will have on independent bookstores.

To get started, check out 5 Steps for AI and Your Store, the first in a BTW series on this topic.

Join us Tuesday, May 30, at 5:00 pm ET for a short Employee Retention Credit webinar. This session will help bookstore owners understand how the Employee Retention Credit works, what’s available, and how your business may qualify. 

Several stores have signed up for this session and discovered they were eligible. Don't assume your store is ineligible. Sign up to learn more.

Sign up now for the Adult Indies Introduce virtual presentation on Tuesday, June 27, at 3:00 pm ET!

Presentation of the Kids' Indies Introduce titles will take place in Milwaukee at Children's Institute. A recording will be posted on BookWeb following the event. 

Publishers are offering specials on all Indies Introduce titles. Sign up by June 4 to promote the Summer/Fall 2023 Indies Introduce titles and take advantage of these special offers.

Now revised and shortened, ABACUS is coming soon! If you want help completing ABACUS this year, sign up now for an ABACUS Workshop.

ABA CFO (and former bookstore owner) PK Sindwani will help you jump start your submission by providing line-by-line instructions on filling out the ABACUS questionnaire and answer any questions that may be slowing you down.

Multiple sessions are available in June and July; check the ABA Events Calendar to find the date that works best for you.

ABA's Lightning Talk series features three booksellers presenting 5–10 minute talks on tech tools, organizational strategies, communication methods, or innovations they’ve made in their stores. Each presentation will be followed by time for Q&A and discussion.

The Thursday, June 15 session will feature:

• Isis Asare of Sistah SciFi (Oakland, CA) on Book Vending Machines
• Angela Trigg of The Haunted Book Shop (Mobile, AL) on Airtable
• Steve Iwanski of Charter Books (Newport, RI) on Integrating Quickbooks with ABACUS

Late last week, the Texas Senate Committee on Education passed HB900 out of committee by a vote of 10–3, despite overwhelming opposition from librarians, booksellers, and ABA.

HB 900 requires book vendors to identify any books that are “sexually explicit" or “sexually relevant” before selling them to schools. Books that are rated “sexually explicit” cannot be sold to schools. Annually, vendors (which could include independent bookstores that sell to libraries) must provide a list of every book they sold to the school district that contained sexually relevant or sexually explicit materials to the Texas Education Agency.

The bill is now in the Senate. ABFE is urging all its Texas members to call and/or meet with their state Senator and demand your representatives represent you!

Rita Chang-Eppig is the author of Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea, a Summer/Fall 2023 Indies Introduce selection. Here, Chang-Eppig and Thu Doan of East Bay Booksellers in Oakland, CA, discuss Deep as the Sky, Red as the Sea.

Kathryn Bromwich is the author of At the Edge of the Woods, a Summer/Fall 2023 Indies Introduce selection. Here, Bromwich and Mallory Melton of BookPeople in Austin, TX, discuss At the Edge of the Woods.

Big web retailers and online marketplaces no longer have a near monopoly on selling books online. Since 2020, Independent bookstores on the IndieCommerce (IC) platform have seen a 580% increase in sales with over $200 million in online revenue for those bookstores. Check out the benefits of using IndieCommerce as an e-commerce solution for independent bookstores and how it stands out from other e-commerce platforms your store might be considering.

Pride month will be here soon! For June, Indie-to-Indie has compiled a Pride playlist.