Important Book Sense Gift Card Announcements
With the Book Sense Gift Card Program in full swing, and the holiday season just around the corner, booksellers participating in, or planning to join, the program should note these important announcements regarding the availability of swipes, barcode readers, and receipt printers through ABA, as well as the approach of important deadlines.
On November 15, the Austin Independent Business Alliance (AIBA) will ask central Texas residents to celebrate their independence by foregoing chain-store shopping for one day in favor of local merchants. Local Austin businesses organized the event, Austin Unchained, in an effort to prove that even one day of shopping at locally owned businesses would have a significant economic impact on the city of Austin. 
This weekend ABA staff will be conducting educational programming and Book Sense gift card demonstrations at the New England Booksellers Association's (NEBA) 30th Annual Meeting & Trade Show and at the Southern California Booksellers Association's (SCBA) Authors Feast and Fall Seminars. The NEBA trade show will be held in Providence, Rhode Island, at the Rhode Island Convention Center from Friday, October 24, to Sunday, October 26.