Education Resources

Description

According to the United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives (USFWC), “Worker cooperatives are values-driven businesses that put worker and community benefit at the core of their purpose. Worker members…participate in the profits, oversight, and often management of the enterprise using democratic practices.” If you are interested in opening a worker-owned co-op bookstore or transitioning to one, this conversation is for you. In this session, a representative from USFWC will talk about the benefits of a worker-owned model as well as the drawbacks. They will review legalities of incorporation, decision making, financial operations, and more. Leave this session with the knowledge you need to evaluate if this shift is the right fit for you.

 

Speakers

Cullen Nawalkowsky, Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse - Baltimore, MD

Talia Whyte, Rozzie Bound Books - Boston, MA

Ellen Vera, Co-op Cincy - Cincinnati, OH

 

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Description

Michele Norris is one of America’s most trusted voices in journalism, earning numerous honors over a long career, including Peabody, Emmy, Dupont, and Goldsmith awards.  As founding director of The Race Card Project, a Peabody Award–winning narrative archive where people around the world share their reflections on identity—in just six words, she ignited the conversation with the seemingly simple prompt: Race. Your Thoughts. Six Words. Please Send. The responses she received have been challenging and complicated, intimate and candid, revealing fear, pain, triumph, and humor. Her transformative new book, OUR HIDDEN CONVERSATIONS (Simon & Schuster) and her work with The Race Card Project reminds us that even during times of great division, honesty, grace, and a willing ear can provide a bridge toward understanding and maybe even empathy.

 

Speakers

Michele Norris, author of Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think about Race and Identity (available now from Simon & Schuster)

 

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Live Captioning

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YouTube Video

 

Description

Independent bookstores are unique — your story, history, values, causes, and specialties are what differentiate you from others. Your “About Us” section on your website should be unlike anyone else’s too! It’s the easiest way, and one of the most important ways, to promote your store. Join this workshop on how to shift from a generic description about community and curation to one that reflects your store’s personality, makes loyal customers, entices new customers, and helps ABA pitch your store to the media, publishers, and others.

 

Speakers

Matt Banker, Banker Creative - Saint Paul, MN

 

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Description

In this interactive session, as a follow-up to his morning keynote, James Rhee will lead a discussion on measurements and operational processes enhancing balance, agility, and goodwill as it relates to the business of life and the life of business.

 

Speakers

James Rhee, author of red helicopter—a parable for our times : lead change with kindness (plus a little math) (On sale April 9, 2024 from HarperOne/HarperCollins)

 

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Slide Deck

 

Used books can meet a variety of needs for you and your customers. They offer customers a deeper selection with more accessible pricing, they reduce your cost of goods, and they reduce your carbon footprint. This panel will feature experienced booksellers from used bookstores who understand the process of curating used books and will walk you through best practices for buying, pricing, managing, and marketing used books. Specifically, this panel is designed for booksellers from used bookstores or for stores that curate a used section.

 

Speakers

Danielle King, Left Bank Books - St. Louis, MO

Pete Mulvihill, Green Apple Books - San Francisco, CA

Amy Hall, Hudson Valley Books for Humanity - Ossining, NY

 

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In an industry with such slim margins, direct ordering can make all the difference to your bookstore’s bottom line. In this session, Ted Hill of Pubnet/Pubeasy, Deidre Dumpson of Edelweiss, and a bookseller panelist will guide you through the key elements of creating a direct ordering strategy, and show you how to use Edelweiss to order frontlist and Pubnet/Pubeasy to order backlist directly from publishers and distributors. If you’re a new bookstore who has primarily sourced your inventory from wholesalers and are now looking to diversify your ordering, this session is for you! You’ll leave this session with the ability to: understand the importance of balanced ordering from both wholesalers and publishers; create a customized ordering strategy; leverage the technology of Edelweiss, Pubnet, and Pubeasy to streamline direct ordering; and build lasting publisher relationships.

 

Speakers

Jill Hendrix, Fiction Addiction - Greenville, SC

Ted Hill, Pubeasy & Pubnet - Brooklyn, NY

Alison Langlois, Edelweiss by Above the Treeline - Ann Arbor, MI

 

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Direct Ordering on Edelweiss for Booksellers

Bookseller Tips and Tricks for Effective Direct Ordering

Developing a Strategy for Ordering Direct

How to Get Your Very Own Book Representative

Description

How can we survive—and even thrive—in this age of conflict? Negotiation expert William Ury, coauthor of the best-selling Getting to YES, introduces a transformative mindset in his upcoming book, Possible: How We Survive (and Thrive) in an Age of Conflict (to be published by Harper Business on February 20, 2024). Drawing on 45 years of experience, Ury presents an actionable framework, a “Path to Possible”, for navigating conflicts of any scale—from boardroom battles to large-scale international conflict —by sharing a range of personal stories intermixed with practical takeaways. Whether you’re facing a family feud, a workplace dispute, or a political crisis, Possible will help you turn any challenge into an opportunity. Equal parts memoir, manual, and manifesto, Possible empowers us all to be “Possibilists”: those who believe in the human potential to transform today’s toughest conflicts creatively and constructively.

 

Speakers

William Ury, author of Possible : How We Survive (and Thrive) in an Age of Conflict (Available now from Harper Business)

 

Files & Links

Live Captioning

Slide Deck

 

In-person book fairs are a fantastic way to build relationships with your local schools and can be a profitable undertaking for a bookstore. If you’ve never done one before, knowing how to start is the first step to success. This session is for bookstores that are new to book fairs and will feature booksellers with established relationships with their local school districts. They will present how to build a realistic timeline for a book fair, manage people’s expectations based on a school’s needs, and create a checklist to ensure your fair goes off without a hitch. Presented by the ABA Children’s Group.

 

Speakers

Molly Olivo, Child’s Play - Washington, DC

Rebecca Crosswhite, Rediscovered Books - Boise, ID

Holly Weinkauf, Red Balloon Bookshop - Saint Paul, MN

 

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Book Fair Toolkit

Shop Local Flyer

Description

During this session, we will explore various use cases and best practices for using spreadsheets in your bookstore. Whether you use Excel or Google Sheets, you will come away from this session with new ways to analyze, evaluate, and apply information. This session will provide an overview of the basics of spreadsheets and formulas, before delving into more advanced functionalities that are particularly useful for bookstores.

 

Speakers

Hannah Oliver Depp, Loyalty Bookstores - Washington, DC

Emma Kaas, The Norwich Bookstore - Norwich, VT

Beth Seufer Buss, Bookmarks - Winston-Salem, NC

Maddie Ciliotta-Young, Watchung Booksellers - Montclair, NJ

 

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Description

The media landscape and consumer reading and listening habits have changed considerably in recent years. We have witnessed the growth of new and existing social media channels and many traditional media outlets have disappeared or reduced coverage and content. What are the most effective channels for bookstores to reach their customers, market to new customers, and engage with their community? This session will break this down, answer your questions, and provide some guiding principles to help you make the right choices for your store.

 

Speakers

Kassie King, The Novel Neighbor - Webster Groves, MO

Cris Siqueira, Lions Tooth - Milwaukee, WI

Kalli King, Rediscovered Books - Boise, ID

Laura Trujillo, USA TODAY - Tysons, VA

 

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Slide Deck