Educating Booksellers Above the Treeline

This month, Above the Treeline made news with the launch of a number of new initiatives and the recent announcement that it would be expanding its service to national bookstore chains.

In late April, Above the Treeline announced the launch of the Treeline Learning Center, an online community where users can access Above the Treeline help documents, new release notes, and more. At the same time, it introduced Treeline University, free online classes on a variety of topics. These classes will also be offered in person on Saturday, June 2, as part of the American Booksellers Association's education program at BookExpo America.

The creation of the Treeline Learning Center was prompted "by customer interest in expanded training session and help features," said John Rubin, the founder of Above the Treeline. Over the next few months, Above the Treeline intends to add additional training documents and videos to the learning center. "Soon we also hope to launch an online forum, so we can bring Treeline customers together to share ideas," Rubin said. And through the Treeline Learning Center, users will be able to sign up for Treeline University classes.

Rubin noted that, because Above the Treeline is an online application, frequent updates and small enhancements are added regularly. "Also, the site is undergoing a transition to a whole new navigation scheme," he said. "So between these things and the demand, we felt this was the time to create opportunities for on-going learning that goes beyond the initial training sessions offered to new users. There was also a need to rewrite help documents, given the changes to the look and feel of the site, and these are being posted on the Treeline Learning Center when they are finalized."

The new Treeline University is part of the overall effort to help with training, Rubin explained, "to both make sure that users are up to speed with enhancements, and that they are using Above the Treeline to its full potential for their store. It also is an opportunity to bring users together on a shared phone call to share their thoughts about how they use Above the Treeline." Treeline U classes are free and are normally held on the phone and online with a desktop-sharing service.

The remaining Treeline U -- May 2007 Course Schedule, which began on May 1, is as follows: Wednesday, May 16, 2007, Returns and Restocking, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET; Wednesday, May 23, 2007, Above the Treeline Basics, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET.

However, for booksellers attending BEA, Above the Treeline will be presenting a series of all its existing Treeline U classes in person, "aimed at existing users that want to learn more. Above the Treeline will also be doing a demo for booksellers that are not Above the Treeline users but who are interested in finding out more. All classes and demos are being held on Saturday morning, June 2. "We are calling it 'Treeline Morning,'" Rubin said, and added that Above the Treeline will also have a table in the Book Sense Lounge and a company representative will be there to meet with anyone who would like to drop by. Users don't need to sign up for the classes. 

In addition to its new initiatives, Above the Treeline announced last week that it would be expanding its service into the world of chain bookselling. Rubin said that he believes working with the chains is essential for a number of reasons. "We risk being marginalized in the industry if we don't work with other channels besides the independent channel," he explained in a letter to his current clients. "Many of our publisher partners have requested the ability to view their chain customer data through Above the Treeline." And he added, working with the chains "will help fund valuable support programs such as Treeline University and the upcoming Treeline Learning Center."

Rubin's letter stressed that Above the Treeline will protect its independent channel data and noted, "Just as we do currently between the Christian bookselling community and the general trade bookselling community, we will set up a 'firewall' between the data of the independent community and that of the chains. Participating chains will see their top seller lists but not the top seller lists of the independents. Furthermore, each publisher customer of ours is contractually obligated to keep each channel's data secure." --David Grogan