From Book Clubs to the Digital Revolution: Booksellers Focus on Education

Following the "What Are You Reading?" Breakfast and the Day of Education's Plenary Session featuring Hearst Magazines president Cathie Black, more than 600 booksellers fanned out across the Brooklyn Marriott's many ballrooms for a day filled with 17 ABA education sessions.

Topics at the Day of Education, which was sponsored by Baker & Taylor, ranged from developing and implementing public relations plans, to what to do when competition comes to town, to expanding the bookstore.

ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz explains the why, how, and when of bookstore expansion.

At the brand-new session "Expanding Your Bookstore: Why, When, and How," presented by ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz, the key words were "plan" and "measure."

Using statistics from the ABA's ABACUS study, Domnitz explained that stores below a certain sales volume ($750,000 - $1 million) consistently have been less profitable. In order to increase sales, booksellers must be open to expanding their stores, whether through remodeling, adding a second location, or finding a completely new space.

After all, he said, "The independent bookstores that have persevered, that are household names in the book industry, are the ones that created and followed a path of growth from the time they opened until today. Bookselling is a business -- and businesses need to grow."

Before expansion, there must be research (particularly demographic), analysis, and planning. All too often, however, these endeavors are at the bottom of booksellers' to-do lists. They should be at the very top, Domnitz said.

He cited key steps to take before expanding a bookstore's physical space, including: do more business online, change your merchandise mix, and introduce a customer loyalty program. Once those initiatives are in place, it's time to think about expansion, particularly if sales are high (or low), market conditions are changing, circumstances beyond your control require you to leave, or opportunity knocks.

Another time to consider expansion? When everything is just fine: "As with relationships, when you're in crisis, you just talk about getting out of it. The time to talk about things is when times are good and you have a clear mind."

Of course, Domnitz said, expansion does not come with guarantees, but the risks of inaction are far greater: Competitive threats, a declining customer base, customer fatigue, or dependence on a single location will inexorably chip away at a bookstore's viability.

Domnitz exhorted booksellers to remember independent bookstores have something chains don't: "Who has the best relationship with your customers? You do. You live in the same community ... you're all part of a fabric."

He concluded with this encouraging statistic: 49 percent of people who shop in independent stores do so because the stores are independent. "Barnes & Noble can never take that away," he said. "We stand for something, and we have to deliver that message -- in signage, in advertising, in our stores."

Sarah Pishko of Prince Books and ABA COO Oren Teicher discuss what to do when the competition comes to town.

Another session debuting at the Day of Education was "What to Do When the Competition Comes to Town: A Case Study," presented by ABA COO Oren Teicher and Sarah Pishko of Prince Books in Norfolk, Virginia. The session was the first in a planned series of seminars following the strategies that Prince Books is adopting in response to two large chain bookstores that are slated to open nearby.

After introducing Pishko, Teicher explained that ABA is creating a case study of the Prince Books experience, but that the findings are "applicable across the board." He also emphasized that if booksellers do discover that competition is looming, "now is the time to act. You can't make changes overnight."

The session presented information about the bookstore, a 25-year-old 2,000-square-foot store, gleaned from its participation in the ABACUS study, as well as from a self-audit. The audit helped evaluate strengths and weaknesses, including the store's ambiance, convenience, financial health, inventory/selection, and marketing and promotion. Teicher presented an analysis of each category, showed Prince's numbers, and talked about how to improve them in a way that could apply generally.

In the inventory/selection category, Pishko gave herself a low rating. In response, Teicher recommended Above the Treeline as an "indispensable inventory tool," particularly for smaller bookstores. Pishko has begun using the service, which she credited with drawing her attention to several David Sedaris backlist titles. "I brought them in and they're selling well," she said. "I would have completely missed them."

Bookseller Karen Corvello of R.J. Julia in Madison, Connecticut, said the session served as a reminder to ramp up efforts to stay competitive. "We can't be complacent," she said. She noted that R.J. Julia would keep the message within the store upbeat and positive if a chain did come to town, and would work even harder to bolster the bookstore's position as a community center by expanding its workshop series and loyalty program.

The Thursday afternoon Book Clubs panel discussion attracted 100 booksellers interested in learning more about -- and sharing their experiences as hosts of -- book clubs, both in-store and off-site.

Moderator Barbara Mead, co-owner of Reading Group Choices, introduced panelists Jennifer Laughran, buyer at Books Inc., San Francisco; Mark LaFramboise, buyer at Politics & Prose, Washington, D.C.; Roz Parr, director of marketing, Vintage and Anchor Books; and Amy Baker, associate director of marketing for Harper Perennial and Ecco.

Mead began by saying, "Book clubs are about books, fun, and community. Bookstores are about books, fun, community -- and profit."

LaFramboise said Politics & Prose runs 16 reading groups: the store selects books, offers a 20 percent discount, and advertises meetings. He noted, "Book clubs are a vital part of our business."

Books Inc. has reading groups at its 10 locations, Laughran said, and does registration for off-site clubs, too. "We help them pick titles, and they buy a ton of books," she said.

Baker, of Harper Perennial and Ecco, described the Invite the Author service, and the P.S. program: an extra 60 pages in P.S. editions offer behind-the-scenes details. "It goes a little deeper than the traditional Q&A," she said.

Parr, of Vintage and Anchor, said, "It seems we're at a point where the definition of a book club is changing.... We're seeing stores working with well-endowed local institutions."

Miami's Brickell Avenue Literary Society is co-sponsored by Northern Trust Bank -- and members pre-purchase 200 books per month from Books & Books in Coral Gables, Florida. Parr said, "Think about working with a corporation ... in your city that's active in local affairs."

Laughran noted, "Book clubs are a lot of work in the beginning. No one may come for months, but once they do, they'll keep coming back."

It's worth it to be patient, LaFramboise added, because "reading groups foster our overall mission: to be a place of community."

If attendance is any indication, it looks as if booksellers are feeling an urgency to join the digital revolution. On Thursday afternoon, it was SRO in Ballroom A, where booksellers gathered to hear ABA Director of BookSense.com and Director of Education Len Vlahos present "Participating in the Digital Revolution: High Altitude," a session that explored the latest developments in the technosphere and how they impact booksellers.

Vlahos opened the session with a popular Norwegian comedy short, posted on YouTube, depicting a Medieval monk who, upon having troubling opening a new-fangled book, calls upon the monastic version of IT for help. The point of the film for booksellers, he remarked, is to show that "technology, a) doesn't always work and b) we are not as inexperienced as we think we are."

The Digital Revolution session discussed the manner in which technology is changing the ways consumers interact, acquire information, and consume information. Vlahos discussed Print on Demand, which, he noted, "is fundamentally changing the distribution model"; the "Wisdom of Crowds," for example, how consumers are more frequently looking to other consumers for recommendations and opinions; and the "Adoption Curve," or how fast a technology is adapted by people and where e-books might be on the curve.

"Independent booksellers are the gatekeepers of information," Vlahos said, "but people are getting information in new ways," such as Google. "It's not about technology, it's about ... how technology is changing consumer behavior." Also discussed at the session were the advent of MySpace, Second Life, and blogs.

Watch for more on ABA's Day of Education programming in upcoming editions of Bookselling This Week. --Reported by Linda M. Castellitto, Dan Cullen, David Grogan, Rosemary Hawkins, Nomi Schwartz, Karen Schechner; photos by Patti Neske