NEBA/NAIBA Hold Shop Talk in East Syracuse, New York

On Tuesday, May 18, the New England Booksellers Association (NEBA) and New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA) held a joint Shop Talk at the Holiday Inn Carrier Circle in East Syracuse, New York, from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. The event was the brainchild of Rob Stahl of Colgate Bookstore in Hamilton, New York, who approached NEBA and NAIBA about facilitating a meeting for the booksellers of central New York, who often must travel long distances to make it to regional meetings.

If there were questions about the level of interest in a central New York Shop Talk, all doubts were put to rest when 40 booksellers showed up for the meeting. "It was an excellent session, and I was really pleased with the response -- it made me happy about bookselling in New York," Stahl said. "The conversation was lively, and the topics really hit the mark."

Stahl began the meeting with a brief introduction and turned the floor over to ABA COO Oren Teicher, who gave a Book Sense Gift Card Program presentation. "We were fortunate that Oren was in the region, because it was a wonderful way to kick off the meeting," said Bill Reilly of Rivers End Bookstore in Oswego. The presentation was "a tremendous eye-opener for me. Customers ask us for gift cards, and we're handing them a certificate … but the fact that they ask for a card tells me we need to initiate the program as soon as possible."

The gift card presentation "showed me there is a lag in perception in how to market cards," said Archie Kutz of Lift Bridge Books in Brockport, noting that gift certificates were kept hidden behind the counter. "But cards should be out on the shelf for sale. We haven't marketed them aggressively enough."

Following Teicher's presentation, there were discussions on topics such as the adequacy of publishers' sales representation, distribution issues, and sales reporting, Stahl noted.

Lisa Kuerbis of Syracuse University Bookstore told BTW that talk revolved around the need for booksellers to report to the Book Sense Bestseller List, from which are spun the NEBA and NAIBA regional bestseller lists. "The sales figures go back to publishers and show how influential independent bookstores are," Kuerbis said.

"The subject of bestseller reporting was pretty lively," Stahl said. "Oren said it is important to report to the Book Sense bestseller list so our voices are heard."

There was also discussion about ways in which central New York booksellers might pool their resources and work together. "Such as being able to entice authors to do an author circuit, since it's hard to attract authors to our shops solely," Kutz explained. "That idea appealed to a lot of people."

Overall, those attendees who spoke with BTW were extremely happy with the Shop Talk, with each noting that the meeting gave them a chance to meet new booksellers in their area -- something they don't often get the chance to do. "It was really well organized … Rob did a great job," Lift Bridge Books' Kutz said. "I didn't realize I had so many bookselling neighbors. It was revealing."

"I thought it was a really good day," Kuerbis said. "It covered issues common to bookstores in our area. I learned of new booksellers in the area. This was nice because so many from central New York could attend." --David Grogan