The Vital Bookstore, a new, interactive learning space that will offer visitors insights into the best merchandising practices to help drive success and engagement for the in-store and community experience, will debut at BookExpo 2018 [5], which takes place May 30–June 1 at the Javits Convention Center in New York City.

The exhibit, located in Booth 2403 on the trade show floor, will feature hourly docent-led tours through the display, which was created by Franklin Fixtures [6] in collaboration with Baker & Taylor, to facilitate small-group exploration of physical merchandising strategies and concepts for cafés, children’s areas, traditional book spaces, and modern general merchandise areas.

Additionally, there will be a number of group dialogue sessions, as detailed below. Booksellers who would like to reserve a place in one of the dialogue sessions should contact Franklin Fixtures’ Lisa Uhrik [7]; walk-ins are also welcome.

9:10 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

• Pattern Language Discussion (Self-Facilitating Group)
• The Planogram as Catalyst for Maintaining a Dynamic Retail Environment (Donna Paz Kaufman & Mark Kaufman)

10:10 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

• IBID User Group
• Mixed Merchandising to Maximize Margins (Donna Paz Kaufman & Mark Kaufman)

11:10 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

• Five Quick Changes You Can Make Now (Self-Facilitating Group)
• Buying for Margins (Eileen Dengler, NAIBA)

12:10 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.

• Basil User Group
• How to Grow a Good Idea From Bad Ideas: Easy, Elegant, and Economical (Wanda Jewell, SIBA)

1:10 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

• Disaster Preparedness – What We’ve Learned With Our Story (Courtney from Trident)
• Shelf Help: Revitalizing a Section, Bringing Fresh Ideas to Your Store (Margaret Lane, Baker & Taylor)

2:10 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

• Make Books/Sell Books (Josh Floyd, Ingram; Bill Petrocelli, Book Passage; Kimberly Daniels, The Country Bookshop; Sarah Hutton, Village Books)
• Experiential: Shelf-Talkers Contest: Hands-on exploration, creation, and conversation about these important tools of connection. What’s the best?

3:10 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

• Five Quick Changes You Can Make Now (Self-Facilitating Group)
• Pattern Languages That Matter (Lisa Uhrik)

4:10 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• Franklin Junto Groups: Libraries & Bookstores (Self-Facilitating Group)
• The Planogram as Catalyst for Maintaining a Dynamic Retail Environment (Donna Paz Kaufman & Mark Kaufman)

9:10 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

• Pattern Language Discussion (Self-Facilitating Group)
• Beyond the Store Walls (Christine Hart, Franklin Fixtures)

10:10 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

• Five Quick Changes You Can Make Now (Self-Facilitating Group)
• Secrets of Store Fixtures That Work (Christine Hart, Franklin Fixtures)

11:10 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

• Five Quick Changes You Can Make Now (Self-Facilitating Group)
• Leveraging Online/Audiobooks in Store (Robert Sindelar, Third Place Books)

12:10 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.

• Experiential: Merchandising Exercise
• Localism/Shop Local (Oren Teicher, American Booksellers Association)

1:10 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

• WordStock User Group
• What Makes Bookstores & Libraries VITAL (Self-Facilitating Group)

2:10 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

• Booklog User Group
• Physical Elements of Hosting Great In-Store Events (Heather Duncan, MPIBA)

3:10 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

• Franklin Junto Groups: Libraries & Bookstores (Self-Facilitating Group)
• Making Events Work in Your Store: Bradley Graham, Politics and Prose

4:10 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• The Heartfulness Way: Guided Meditation With Daaji and his Student Joshua Pollock (author program)

Booksellers can register for free badges to BookExpo [8] by providing their ABA member ID number during the registration process. More information about ABA’s programming at BookExpo can be found on BookWeb.org [9].