ABA Booksellers Forum in North Carolina Set for January 28

This season's second ABA Booksellers Forum held in conjunction with the Southeast Booksellers Association will take place on Wednesday, January 28, at McIntyre's Fine Books at Fearrington Village in Pittsboro, North Carolina (near Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill). Representing ABA at the forum will be CEO Avin Mark Domnitz and COO Oren Teicher.

Programming is scheduled from 11:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., and special this year will be a discussion of Book Sense at Five, ABA's plans to celebrate the fifth birthday of Book Sense.

The schedule begins with a Book Sense gift card demonstration, which will explain how the gift card works and how easy it is to get started. Specific case studies of booksellers' experiences this past holiday season will be included.

The gift card demonstration will be followed by the Booksellers Forum from noon - 1:45 p.m. ABA staff will present an update on the association's activities and plans for the future, and attendees will have the opportunity to discuss whatever issues are on their minds. Input gathered at the forum will be instrumental in guiding the association as it develops programs to meet the needs of member booksellers. Lunch will be provided.

From 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m., Domnitz will be available for one-on-one meetings with booksellers to demonstrate how easy it is to submit financial information to the ABACUS study. Participants have found that data from the study is extraordinarily useful in their efforts to improve store operations. (For more information about ABACUS, click here. Booksellers wishing to schedule a meeting with Domnitz should send an e-mail to [email protected].)

Booksellers planning to attend the forum are asked to RSVP to Kristen Gilligan at ABA at (800) 637-0037, ext. 1286, or at [email protected].

As part of its Book Sense at Five celebrations, ABA is holding a bookseller contest, and the Grand Prize is five nights' hotel accommodations and admission to BookExpo America for the next five years. The contest is open to all owners and employees of ABA member bookstores. Individuals may enter the contest by either voting for the Best Book Sense Books of the First Five Years and/or by attending one of the 2004 Booksellers Forums. (To vote for the Best of Book Sense, and for more information about the contest, click here.)

For directions to McIntyre's Fine Books, go to www.fearringtonvillage.com/mcintyres.asp.

For the complete Winter/Spring ABA Booksellers Forum schedule, click here.