ABA Education & Much More at NCIBA

The American Booksellers Association is looking forward to seeing booksellers at next week's trade show hosted by the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association (NCIBA). The show will be held from Thursday, October 8, through Saturday, October 10, at the Oakland Convention Center and City Center Marriott. ABA staff will be on hand to celebrate independent bookselling, visit with booksellers, and share some updated and innovative education sessions. In addition, at the show, attendees will be able to get a first-hand look at Edelweiss, the interactive online catalog platform.

ABA education sessions on Thursday, open to all NCIBA attendees, are:

• Social Media & the Independent Bookseller, 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
  Aimed at booksellers of all levels who are interested in social media
  Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, and other social networking sites have fundamentally changed the way people approach not only their private lives, but also their business transactions.  Social media networks are not the wave of the future -- they are the wave of the now: in today's connected world you are no longer building relationships with "customers" but with "friends." Session participants will leave with a greater understanding of where this paradigm shift is taking small business.

• Going Digital:  The Case for E-Books, 1:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
  Aimed at all booksellers interested in this topic
  The industry has been hyping e-books since the late 1990s. But the reality might finally be outpacing the hype. E-book sales are growing at 150 percent or more each month, and consumer interest has been piqued by the iPhone, Kindle, and Sony Readers. ABA COO Len Vlahos will explain why the e-book phenomenon is real and happening now. (See related story.)

Also on Thursday, a representative from Above the Treeline will give a brief overview of Edelweiss, the interactive online catalog platform, and then moderate a buying session between a publisher rep and a bookstore buyer.

Booksellers are invited to stop by ABA's tables at the show to learn how the association's programs and services can help their businesses. In addition, there will be Edelweiss demonstrations and education sessions presented by Above the Treeline. Edelweiss is the new free interactive catalogs system for stores and their publisher reps.

Booksellers who do stop by the ABA tables will have an extra chance at winning one of more than two-dozen publisher-sponsored scholarships to the Fifth Annual Winter Institute, to be held at the Doubletree San Jose in San Jose, California, from February 3 - 5, 2010. Scholarship winners will be selected from among all ABA bookseller members, with booksellers dropping off a business card at the regional shows earning an extra entry in the scholarship drawings. Scholarships cover the cost of reasonable airfare, up to a four-night hotel stay at the Doubletree San Jose, and Wi5 meal fees.

For additional program details, ticket information, and to register, visit the NCIBA website.