Podcast

 

AI is rapidly becoming part of the day-to-day and booksellers are beginning to explore what that means for bookselling. Being pro-author and pro-employee doesn't have to mean being anti-AI or rejecting the opportunities that AI represents for the industry. Go beyond the AI hype with Director of ABA Technology Greg Galloway and ABA’s Director of IndieCommerce Phil Davies as they consider AI’s place in publishing today, what the future might hold for AI and independent retailers, and how AI can be made to serve labor, creative arts, and commerce (not vice-versa).

 

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The world of work has changed. New worker expectations, growing labor movements, pandemic trauma, increased need for de-escalation skills, and pandemic-induced skill gaps are creating new challenges and opportunities for managers and frontline employees. In this session, hear from an expert on current labor trends to consider when hiring, developing, and supporting staff.

 

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Nicolas Williams, University of Cincinnati - Cincinnati, OH

 

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Keeping a bookstore running can feel like having too many tabs open in your brain at once. Luckily, there are project management tools and strategies that can help with that. In this presentation, booksellers who have cracked the code on project management will share the tools and strategies that have helped them set goals and timelines and stay organized with their short- and long-term projects. You’ll leave this session with a better understanding of effective project management, which tool or approach is right for you, and what your next steps are for getting started!

 

Speakers

Kirsten Hess, The End & Let's Play Books Bookstore(s) - Emmaus, PA

Angela Schwesnedl, Moon Palace Books - Minneapolis, MN

Rachel Watkins, Avid Bookshop - Athens, GA

Cori Theroux, The Green Dragon Bookstore - Fort Dodge, IA

 

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Project Management Reading List

 

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

 

CoverHound is thrilled to present a special four-part webinar series for ABA members, Insuring Success: Business Insurance for Bookstores.

 

On March 28 at 3:00 pm ET, CoverHound presented part one of this series, Safeguarding Your Shelves: Business Insurance Basics for Book Retailers. In this webinar, tailored to book retailers and bookstore owners, CoverHound guides bookstore owners through the essential aspects of commercial insurance. Learn about the coverage options necessary to safeguard your book business against unforeseen risks, including property damage, liability claims, and business interruption.

 

CoverHound is proud to partner with the ABA in managing the Bookseller Insurance Program, which has been supporting the unique insurance needs of bookstores since 1997. More information can be found at https://www.bookweb.org/coverhound-business-insurance-details.

 

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Insurance Checklist

Scenario Checklist

Claims Checklist

 

 

Every bookseller in the UK uses Batch to simplify their Accounts Payable and publisher invoice management and over 300 US booksellers (and growing!) are now using it. Come learn more about this free platform to:

The more booksellers that sign up for Batch, the more publishers that will sign up! Saving everyone time and money.

 

Speakers

Kathy Burnette, Brain Lair Books - South Bend, IN

Kate Layte, Papercuts Bookshop - Boston, MA

Zachary Matelski, McLean and Eakin Booksellers - Petoskey, MI

Nathan Halter, Batch for Books - Hartford, CT

 

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A well-planned seasonal inventory can result in big profits, while missing the mark can be a costly mistake. Buyers from a large urban store, a medium-sized store in a college town, and a bookmobile will discuss how they plan their seasonal inventory while keeping in mind store budgets, physical space, and more.

 

Speakers

Elese Stutts, Flyleaf Books - Chapel Hill, NC

Kim Brock, Joseph-Beth Booksellers - Cincinnati, OH

Zsamé Morgan, Babycake's Book Stack - Saint Paul, MN

Emily Schroen, Main Street Books - Saint Charles, MO

 

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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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This information session hosted by the ABA team and your bookseller colleagues will answer questions like: What is Batch? What is license plate receiving? What are event grids? And more!  ABA will begin the discussion by reviewing industry opportunities you may not know about like RISE scholarships for booksellers and bookstore owners to visit international conferences and bookstores; Books Across Borders opportunities; the Professional Booksellers School; ABA opportunities like the Board, Nominating Committee, Audit Committee, Governance Committee, Indies Introduce, Education Task Force, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, Booksellers Advisory Committee, ABA Children’s Group Advisory Council, etc. No question is too basic — come as you are and leave a little more enlightened!

 

Speakers

Christine Bollow, Loyalty Bookstores - Washington, DC

Tegan Tigani, Queen Anne Book Company - Seattle, WA

Camden Avery, Booksmith - San Francisco, CA

Ryan Quinn, American Booksellers Association

Joy Dallanegra-Sanger, American Booksellers Association

 

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Welcome to Bookselling Handout

ABA's Bookstore Resource Library

ABA's Lightning Talk series features booksellers presenting 5-10 minute talks on tech tools, organizational strategies, communication methods, or innovations they’ve made in their stores. On March 14, 2024, Angie Zhao of bbgb books (Richmond, VA) discussed School Author Events.

 

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Although you may be creating events that look successful, your return on investment might not be. Come to this session to learn what information you should be tracking, how to track it, and how to analyze this data so you can evaluate whether or not an event is worth your staff’s time.

 

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Cindy Dach, Changing Hands Bookstore - Tempe, AZ

 

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This session presents practical ways to prepare to fight book bans before they come to your area. Staff from the American Booksellers for Free Expression (ABFE), ABA’s free expression initiative, will advise attendees on what they can do locally: how to engage with their community and local government, and what actions to take if attempted book bans do arrive. Presented by the ABA Children’s Group.

 

Speakers

Cathy Berner, Blue Willow Bookshop - Houston, TX

Leah Johnson, Loudmouth Books - Indianapolis, IN

Philomena Polefrone, American Booksellers Association - White Plains, NY

Angela Cooper, ACLU of Kentucky - Louisville, KY

 

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ABA's Right to Read Toolkit

KYGA Book Bans Digital Toolkit

 

This panel session, led by Andy Hunter of Bookshop.org, will feature a panel of booksellers discussing how they use digital platforms to sell books, build an online audience, and drive in-person and online sales. The panel will discuss selling with e-commerce, highlighting events and community through social media, reviewing and acting on website traffic to increase the visibility of your store with search engine optimization (SEO), and engaging customers through Edelweiss to create email marketing.

 

Speakers

Veronica Liu, Word Up Community Bookshop/Librería Comunitaria - New York, NY

Amanda Lepper, Dog-Eared Books - Ames, IA

Evisa Gallman, Uncle Bobbie's Coffee and Books - Philadelphia, PA

Andy Hunter, Bookshop.org - Brooklyn, NY

 

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Join this bookseller-led panel for a discussion on supporting trans and nonbinary staff and colleagues. With LGBTQIA2S+ (particularly trans) rights under constant siege, it is more important than ever to have procedures in place that protect our staff and colleagues. Panelists will discuss what active allyship means for all employees, and will review best practices for responding to anti-trans legislation and community hate.

 

 

Speakers

Gretchen Treu, A Room of One's Own Bookstore - Madison, WI

Kai Burner, Bookworm of Edwards - Edwards, CO

Linda Sherman-Nurick, Cellar Door Bookstore - Riverside, CA

Brein Lopez, Children's Book World - Los Angeles, CA

 

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Active Allyship Checklist

 

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

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