ABA Programming at Regional Shows Kicks Off at SIBA & NEIBA

The fall regional shows begin with the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance’s SIBA 16 Discovery Show, on September 16–18, followed by the New England Independent Booksellers Association (NEIBA) Fall Conference, on September 20–22. Booksellers at both shows, as well those attending this fall’s six other regional events, are encouraged to stop by the American Booksellers Association’s booth to learn about this year’s Indies First and Indies Introduce initiatives as well as the 2017 Winter Institute in Minneapolis. ABA members who stop by and leave a business card at the booth will have an extra chance to win a scholarship to attend the Winter Institute or the 2017 ABC Children’s Institute.

At the shows, ABA will be presenting an education session plus free IndieCommerce one-on-one meetings for IndieCommerce users and non-users alike.

ABA CEO Oren Teicher, Senior Program Officer Joy Dallanegra-Sanger, and IndieCommerce Manager Geetha Nathan will be at both the SIBA and NEIBA shows. At SIBA, they will be joined by ABA Member Relationship Manager Nathan Halter. At NEIBA, they will be joined by Senior Strategy Officer Dan Cullen and Member Relationship Manager Catherine Cusick.

Below is the schedule of ABA programming at SIBA and NEIBA.

SIBA16 Discovery Show
September 16–18, 2016, at The Hilton Savannah Desoto, 15 East Liberty Street, Savannah, Georgia

• ABA will be located in Booth BS6-7 on the trade show floor.
   
• On Friday, September 16, from 10:40 a.m. to 11:55 a.m., ABA will present the education session “An Update on the New Localism Data and Hands-On Instruction.”

  Building on the “Amazon and Empty Storefronts” study presented at Winter Institute 11 and the 2016 Spring Forums, this session will present data from a new report commissioned from Civic Economics. After the update, the program will become a hands-on workshop focusing on implementing materials in ABA’s state-specific Antitrust Action Kit. During the workshop, each bookseller will author at least one letter urging a lawmaker to investigate Amazon for violating state and federal antitrust law. ABA will also facilitate role-playing exercises to help booksellers practice communicating the message of the New Localism to other independent retailers, elected officials, community members, local first organizations, and the media. This session is aimed at store decision-makers.

• On Saturday, September 17, and Sunday, September 18, IndieCommerce Manager Geetha Nathan will be available to meet with IndieCommerce users and non-users in one-on-one sessions in the Booksellers Lounge on the show floor. These sessions are an opportunity for non-users to find out whether ABA’s e-commerce platform is for them; for stores already using IndieCommerce, the sessions are a chance to discuss and find solutions to their most pressing questions.

  Interested booksellers are encouraged to sign up in advance, but walk-ins are welcome.

Complete details about the SIBA Discovery Show are available on the SIBA website.

NEIBA Fall Conference
September 20–22, 2016, at The Omni at One Exchange Street, Providence, Rhode Island

• ABA will be located at Table D3 1-3 on the show floor.
   
• On Wednesday, September 21, from 3:45 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., ABA will be presenting the education session “Understanding and Acting on Your ABACUS-15 Report.”

  ABACUS is the only financial benchmarking tool for the independent bookselling industry. Booksellers who participate in the confidential survey receive a customized report that puts their store’s finances within a fully intelligible industry framework, which provides context, insight, and essential benchmarking guidelines to improve financial performance. Booksellers nationwide, in markets of all sizes, have found ABACUS to be an essential key to strategic and business planning, access to capital, negotiations with landlords, and much more. At this session, ABA CEO Oren Teicher and ABA Board Member Annie Philbrick (co-owner of Bank Square Books in Mystic, Connecticut, and Savoy Bookshop & Café in Westerly, Rhode Island) will share information about ABACUS participation and will review top-line financial data from this year’s report to demonstrate how booksellers can use the information to improve their businesses’ performance. Booksellers are encouraged to come with questions.

• On Wednesday, September 21, IndieCommerce Manager Geetha Nathan will be available to meet with IndieCommerce users and non-users in one-on-one sessions at the ABA table on the show floor. These sessions are an opportunity for non-users to find out whether ABA’s e-commerce platform is for them; for stores already using IndieCommerce, the sessions are an opportunity to discuss and find solutions to their most pressing questions.

  Interested booksellers are encouraged to sign up in advance, but walk-ins are welcome.

Complete details about the NEIBA Fall Conference are available on the NEIBA website.