News - Regional

The American Booksellers Association will be hosting two programs in conjunction with the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance in March.

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ABA’s first spring Booksellers Forum of 2012 will be held on Thursday, March 8, at Towne Book Center & Café in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, in conjunction with the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association.

On March 8, representatives of ABA (Board members and senior staff) will be hitting the road for the first in this year’s series of 10 spring Booksellers Forums. These open forums are designed to provide member booksellers with the opportunity to share ideas, discuss industry issues, and receive updates on various association projects. Each will also feature an educational session drawn from the recently concluded Winter Institute.

California booksellers could face civil fines of up to $500 if they improperly disclose customer information under a state law on reader privacy that goes into effect on January 1. 

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This week, ABA CEO Oren Teicher provides an update on the association’s participation in the nine regional trade shows and shares some of the questions and topics of concern voiced by booksellers who stopped by the ABA booth at each.

Since the enactment of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, the U.S. Small Business Administration has been lending at record levels. Booksellers can learn about SBA’s loan programs and more at the upcoming regional trade shows.

Nathan Halter, a former bookseller at The Doylestown Bookshop, joins ABA as a Member Relationship Manager for bookstores in the GLIBA, MIBA, MPIBA, PNBA, and SIBA regions.

This year’s regional trade show season will conclude in California, with the SCIBA Authors Feast and Trade Show on October 22 in Long Beach, and the NCIBA Trade Show from October 27 - 29 in Oakland.

Next month’s NEIBA, PNBA, and GLIBA trade shows will provide booksellers with a full range of educational programming, author events, and networking opportunities. Here’s a look at some of the regional highlights and ABA programming at the shows.

At this month’s SIBA trade show, attendees will have an opportunity to hear an important update on the e-fairness fight from a national and regional perspective, to learn what’s unfolding in key battleground states (including South Carolina, Virginia, and Florida), and to ask questions about what can be a complex and confusing issue.

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The MBA and MPIBA regional trade shows, which take place from September 22 - 23 and September 30 - October 2, respectively, will offer members a full range of educational programming, author events, and networking opportunities, as well as several new features.

Since July 4, NCIBA Executive Director Hut Landon has been visiting IndieCommerce stores to talk about e-books and provide demonstrations for store staff. Landon walks booksellers through the buying process from downloading Adobe Digital Editions to purchasing e-books using the Nook and iPad.