Need to Know: Buying Your BuildingStore Operations

This printable handout outlines two scenarios that creates stability in buying a location for yor bookstore.

Need to Know: 10 Ways to Prepare for Climate ChangeStore Operations

A printable handout that gives ten actionable ways to prepare your bookstore for climate change.

Book Fair Inventory ListChildren’s Bookselling

This is an editable spreadsheet template to track what inventory was sent and sold to a book fair.

Measure What Matters: 5 KPIs for Turbulent TimesFinancial Management

This slide presentation defines key performance indicators, five KPIs to track, and how to make decisions based of that data.

Book Fair ApplicationChildren’s Bookselling

This editable application for stores to give schools outlines expectations for three types of book fairs.

Book Fair ContractChildren’s Bookselling

This editable template is an example of a contract between a store and school for an on-site bookfair that outlines responsibilities for both the bookstore and the school.

Emergency Action PlanStore Operations

This is an editable template for creating an emergency action plan for your store. It covers natural disasters, store policy, and important phone numbers.

Curating for Readers, Not CategoriesBuying & Inventory Management

From romantasy to cozy horror to the emerging young teen lit category bridging middle grade and YA, bookstores are rethinking how to organize their shelves to reflect how readers actually read. Today’s audiences — especially younger and crossover readers — are drawn to stories that blur genre lines and center emotion, identity, and imagination. This session explores how these evolving trends are reshaping curation, merchandising, and reader engagement. We’ll discuss how to identify and support new or hybrid genres, create sections that reflect your store’s values and audience, and help staff and customers navigate shifting boundaries in ways that spark discovery and delight.

ABACUS and Pre-OrdersBuying & Inventory Management

At each of the 2019 spring forums, ABA presented “ABACUS and Pre-Orders: Two Programs You Can’t Do Without,” an update on two initiatives critical to the success of any independent bookstore: an active pre-orders campaign and participation in the annual ABACUS financial survey. This educational session will focused on best practices for increasing pre-orders — including the latest on accurately reporting and tracking — based on in-store experiences and feedback from the Pre-Order Booksellers Task Force.

ABACUS and Pre-Orders was presented by ABA at the 2019 Regional Spring Forums.