MSIBA Trade Show Garners Positive Reviews

The Mid-South Independent Booksellers Association (MSIBA) held its fall trade show at the Renaissance Austin Hotel in Austin, Texas, from September 4 - 7. Austin, an apt choice for the trade show, was celebrating the "Keep Austin Weird" campaign, which promotes independent businesses and was created by Austin's BookPeople and Waterloo Records. The show garnered positive reviews from booksellers with many commenting on the exceptional educational programming.

Andy Jackson, MSIBA executive director, was thrilled with this year's show. "The Trade Show was great," said Jackson. "We had over 25 new exhibitors who had never been to our show prior to this year. We were well above the table count from New Orleans last year. The hotel was superb, and the Austin venue site brought out a tremendous selection of authors."

BookSense.com director Len Vlahos also thought this year's show a success, partly because of the time he was able to spend with booksellers discussing the new Book Sense Electronic Gift Card Program at the ABA/Book Sense booth on the trade show floor. "It was really gratifying to have such quality conversations regarding the gift card program with so many booksellers present at Mid-South," he said.

One of those booksellers was Phil Smith, assistant manager of Brace Books & More in Ponca City, Oklahoma, who said, "Givex sounds like it's going to be a really good thing. You can leave the cards anywhere around the store because they're deactivated. The hardware looks simple to use. It'll be convenient for customers and for us. Bottom line is the cards will be easier than paper gift certificates and bookkeeping is easier since all the information will be stored electronically."

Booksellers who participated in the demonstrations or who brought a photo of a recent Book Sense display had the chance to win a free gift card training session and a color inkjet printer. Abilene Bookstore in Abilene, Texas, was the Grand Prize winner of a free gift card training session and the printer; Brystone Books in Fort Worth, Texas, won a free gift card training session.

David Cockcroft of WordsWorth Books & Co. in Little Rock, Arkansas, talked to BTW about his experiences at the show. "We had a wonderful show. There were lots of exhibitors and the Arboretum was a nice location," he said. "One important event we had was the first ever MSIBA book award. Tim Gautreaux, won for The Clearing (Knopf). And educational programming is always a strong point at Mid-South. I got the most out of ABACUS [a session led by ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz addressing the result of the ABACUS study in which 'data slices' reveal profitability levels]. My bookstore participated in the study, and we already received our numbers, but it was very interesting to hear Avin analyze numbers on various line items from income statements. The session really addressed the bottom line."

For Susan Post, owner of Book Woman in Austin, the highlight was the session Vlahos led entitled "Technology as a Bookselling Tool." "Every store has different needs," she said. "But Len was able to address each of them." Adrienne Harper of Brystone Children's Books also appreciated the session. "Technology as a Bookselling Tool was great! I took the most notes and probably learned the most. Len was very good at explaining the computer stuff. He understood that so many of us are nearly computer illiterate," she said. Harper added that overall the show was "a really good one."

A high point for many of the booksellers was the children's programming on Friday, which included the annual Children's Author Breakfast, which featured authors Janet Tashjian (The Gospel According to Larry and Fault Line, Holt); Greg Leitich (Ninjas, Piranhas, and Galileo, Little, Brown); and Betty Lou Phillips (Emily Goes Wild, Gibbs Smith). Later in the day booksellers attended the Children's Author Luncheon, featuring authors D. Anne Love (The Puppeteer's Apprentice, S&S); Keith Graves (Loretta Ace Pinky Scout, Three Nasty Gnarlies, Scholastic); and Kathi Appelt (Piggies in a Polka, Harcourt).

Dana Harper, Adrienne Harper's sister, said she thought the children's programming was one of the most extensive of the regional trade shows. Her favorite was the Humpty Dumpty Dinner and Silent Auction at the Austin Children’s Museum.

Of the other educational sessions, Harper particularly appreciated the panel led by BookPeople's Steve Bercu -- "Economic Impact of Locally Owned Business." "It was inspirational," said Harper. "Bercu talked about how if a chain moves into your neighborhood, there is still hope. There are people who care and are loyal." Harper also commented on the "Keep Austin Weird" effort. "It was so big. There were people selling T-shirts on the side of the street. They weren't even BookPeople."

Like most successful shows, the MSIBA gathering left the crowd eager to start planning for 2004, and even 2005. Despite the exhaustion of the past week, Jackson was thinking of the future. "All in all, Austin was great! We plan to return in 2005," he said.