Winter Institute 2024

 

Description

Doris Kearns Goodwin is an acclaimed presidential historian, international keynote speaker, and Pulitzer Prize-winning, New York Times #1 bestselling author of books including Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, Leadership: In Turbulent Times, and the forthcoming An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History.

 

Speakers

Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s (On sale April 16, 2024 from Simon & Schuster)

Philomena Polefrone, Advocacy Associate Manager for ABA's American Booksellers for Free Expression

 

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Live Captioning

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The world of work has changed. New worker expectations, growing labor movements, pandemic trauma, increased need for de-escalation skills, and pandemic-induced skill gaps are creating new challenges and opportunities for managers and frontline employees. In this session, hear from an expert on current labor trends to consider when hiring, developing, and supporting staff.

 

Speakers

Nicolas Williams, University of Cincinnati - Cincinnati, OH

 

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Slide Deck

 

Description

As booksellers continue to be on the front lines of many consumer and human rights issues, the need for professionally-led training to keep booksellers safe has never been more important. In this session, participants will learn essential de-escalation skills and strategies to gracefully handle difficult customer interactions and defuse tensions while prioritizing staff safety. Empower yourself with the tools you need to navigate challenging situations with confidence and professionalism, fostering a welcoming and supportive atmosphere in your bookstore.

 

Speakers

Chasity Rush, Talbert House - Cincinnati, OH

 

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Slide Deck

De-Escalation Language

Description

Nearly half of small businesses fail within the first five years, and only 25% make it to 15 years or more - and bookselling can be a particularly tough industry to crack. This makes it all the more impressive when a bookstore manages multiple decades in business, with no sign of stopping. This panel features five indomitable booksellers with more than 100 years of combined bookselling experience. They will share their stories and the ups and downs of their careers in bookselling, what motivates them to keep going, and their hopes for the future of the industry. Come learn from our bookselling veterans!

 

Speakers

Kris Kleindienst, Left Bank Books - St. Louis, MO

Janet Jones, Source Booksellers LLC - Detroit, MI

Rick Simonson, Elliott Bay Book Company - Seattle, WA

Brein Lopez, Children's Book World - Los Angeles, CA

Shirikiana Gerima, Sankofa Video and Books - Washington, DC

 

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Description

The changing landscape of bookselling brings new challenges every day, and it is essential to learn how to respond without losing sight of your goals or purpose. Join Bonnie Wan, author of The Life Brief, for a workshop that creates space to declare your ambitions/focus for 2024 and design a brief for how you will achieve growth, engagement, and concentrate on what matters most deeply to you and your business.

 

Speakers

Bonnie Wan, author of The Life Brief: A Playbook for No-Regrets Living (available now from Simon Element)

 

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Description

The heart of a bookstore is the bookseller in the stacks, on the floor, behind the counter, or in the back room. These are the dedicated professionals who create the welcoming environment your community experiences every day. How do you keep this team? This session will cover important factors that impact employee retention today. You will be asked to consider your store culture, the openness of store-wide communication, your diversity and inclusion efforts, and conditions around compensation, among other important factors that drive employee satisfaction and retention. Come prepared to listen, engage, and leave with the beginnings of an action plan.

 

Speakers

Suzanna Hermans, Oblong Books - Millerton, NY

Jamie Thomas, Women & Children First - Chicago, IL

DJ Johnson, Baldwin & Co. - New Orleans, LA

Lyn Roberts, Square Books - Oxford, MS

 

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Although you may be creating events that look successful, your return on investment might not be. Come to this session to learn what information you should be tracking, how to track it, and how to analyze this data so you can evaluate whether or not an event is worth your staff’s time.

 

Speakers

Cindy Dach, Changing Hands Bookstore - Tempe, AZ

 

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Every bookseller in the UK uses Batch to simplify their Accounts Payable and publisher invoice management and over 300 US booksellers (and growing!) are now using it. Come learn more about this free platform to:

The more booksellers that sign up for Batch, the more publishers that will sign up! Saving everyone time and money.

 

Speakers

Kathy Burnette, Brain Lair Books - South Bend, IN

Kate Layte, Papercuts Bookshop - Boston, MA

Zachary Matelski, McLean and Eakin Booksellers - Petoskey, MI

Nathan Halter, Batch for Books - Hartford, CT

 

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Keeping a bookstore running can feel like having too many tabs open in your brain at once. Luckily, there are project management tools and strategies that can help with that. In this presentation, booksellers who have cracked the code on project management will share the tools and strategies that have helped them set goals and timelines and stay organized with their short- and long-term projects. You’ll leave this session with a better understanding of effective project management, which tool or approach is right for you, and what your next steps are for getting started!

 

Speakers

Kirsten Hess, The End & Let's Play Books Bookstore(s) - Emmaus, PA

Angela Schwesnedl, Moon Palace Books - Minneapolis, MN

Rachel Watkins, Avid Bookshop - Athens, GA

Cori Theroux, The Green Dragon Bookstore - Fort Dodge, IA

 

Files & Links

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Project Management Reading List

 

This session presents practical ways to prepare to fight book bans before they come to your area. Staff from the American Booksellers for Free Expression (ABFE), ABA’s free expression initiative, will advise attendees on what they can do locally: how to engage with their community and local government, and what actions to take if attempted book bans do arrive. Presented by the ABA Children’s Group.

 

Speakers

Cathy Berner, Blue Willow Bookshop - Houston, TX

Leah Johnson, Loudmouth Books - Indianapolis, IN

Philomena Polefrone, American Booksellers Association - White Plains, NY

Angela Cooper, ACLU of Kentucky - Louisville, KY

 

Files & Links

Slide Deck

ABA's Right to Read Toolkit

KYGA Book Bans Digital Toolkit