A Great Fall Trade Show Planned for the Great Lakes

The Great Lakes Booksellers Association (GLBA) will hold its 19th Annual Trade Show from Friday, October 3, through Sunday, October 5, at the Hyatt Regency in Dearborn, Michigan. The show offers education and author events throughout the weekend, including the GLBA Book Awards Luncheon and Moveable Feast. New this year are awards recognizing booksellers' work in their communities. American Booksellers Association education programming includes "ABA's E-Commerce Solution Users' Group," "Connecting to Your Customers and Community With IndieBound," "Consumer Behavior Revealed," and "Bookstore Self Audit: A Critical Look at Your Own Operations."

"GLBA is known for its great educational programs and this year is no exception," said Executive Director Jim Dana. "We're proud to present 19 seminars in all (including ABA offerings) that cover the full range of questions from management issues, such as 'The Secret Life of the Book,' with George Gibson of Walker & Co, to categories like business books with Jack Covert and Jack Satterstein of 800CEOREAD."

After joining the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) and conducting IndieBound meetings in four states this summer, GLBA is putting much of the show's emphasis on localism and independence. "That focus on independence led us also to develop a recognition program for involvement in the industry," added Dana. "This year, for the first time, we'll be presenting Bookstore and Bookseller Awards, recognizing businesses for their role in their communities and people for their time and commitment to the business."

ABA's programming, sponsored by Ingram Book Group/Ingram Publisher Services, will be presented by ABA Chief Program Officer Len Vlahos and Chief Marketing Officer Meg Smith. Sessions include:

• ABA's E-Commerce Solution Users' Group, 10:30 a.m. - 11:20 a.m.
  ABA's E-Commerce Solution is undergoing a major overhaul, planned for a fall 2008 release. The site is migrating to the open-source platform Drupal, which will provide users with new and improved administrative tools, better performance and reliability, and a shorter path to new features and functionality. Participants in the users group will have an opportunity to meet with and provide feedback to ABA's E-Commerce staff. Booksellers who are not currently E-Commerce participants are also invited to attend.

• Connecting to Your Customers and Community With IndieBound, 1:00 p.m. - 1:50 p.m.
  There is a clear sentiment in favor of localism that is revolutionizing consumer behavior. People are renewing their ties to friends, neighbors, and institutions in their cities and towns, choosing Main Street over malls, and embracing localism and sustainability movements of all types. This presents an extraordinary opportunity for independent booksellers and other independent retailers. IndieBound taps into this growing movement, creating new and interesting ways for independent booksellers and other independent businesses to better communicate their core strengths -- independence, passion, community -- to their customers. Share what you have done in your store with IndieBound promotional material, ways that you have connected with other independent businesses in your community, and hear about creative ways your colleagues have used IndieBound.

• Consumer Behavior Revealed, 2:00 p.m. - 2:50 p.m.
  Getting close to your customers is a lot like dating them: the better you know one another, the more successful your relationship will be. Studies show that the same consumer behaves differently at different times. Sometimes customers are price conscious, sometimes brand conscious, sometimes seeking a unique experience. This informative, entertaining session will show you how to better identify and understand who your customers really are.

• Bookstore Self Audit: A Critical Look at Your Own Operations, 3:00 p.m. - 3:50 p.m.
  Learn how to evaluate your store from the perspective of your customers. The focus will be on your business' ambiance, convenience, financial health, inventory selection, marketing, and customer services and how to use the audit to identify where to focus your resources to make your bookstore more customer-friendly.

Booksellers arriving for the show by Thursday evening can attend screenings of Paperback Dreams, a documentary chronicling the history of Cody's Books in Berkeley and Kepler's Books in Menlo Park, California, and State by State, Powell's next Out of the Book project. "After last year's preview of Kite Runner, we decided to make Thursday evening, when many are arriving, our 'Film Night,'" said Dana.

Friday begins with a First-Timers Breakfast at 8:30 a.m. and a chance for booksellers to collectively brainstorm at "Ideas That Work" at 9:30 a.m. Education sessions, which run all day, cover everything from "Sidelines for Your Financial Health" to "Untapped Potential of Business Books."

"Our approach to technology topics this year is a graded one," explained Dana. "For seminars on e-mail newsletters and websites, we have a 101 session for beginners and a 201 session for those with some experience who want to take the next step.... We have roundtables planned for owners, buyers, events, frontline booksellers, new stores, and Above the Treeline."

Author events on Friday include the GLBA Awards with authors Ellen Baker (Keeping the House, Random House); Randall de Seve and Loren Long (Illus.) (Toy Boat, Philomel); Ted McClelland (The Third Coast, Chicago Review Press); and Christopher Paul Curtis (Elijah of Buxton, Scholastic Press). The night continues with a reception, Moveable Feast, and author signing.

On Saturday, the trade show floor hours are 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., but it's closed for Reps' Picks from 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. The Bookstore Awards Breakfast and Annual Meeting kicks off at 8:00 a.m., and Saturday night is busy with a reception; reading room; Booksellers Banquet, with authors Amy Dickinson (The Mighty Queens of Freeville), Brad Meltzer (The Book of Lies), Tim Dorsey (Nuclear Jellyfish), and Stewart O' Nan (Songs for the Missing); and a Quiz Bowl.

At Sunday's Children's Book and Author Breakfast, from 7:45 a.m. - 9:30 a.m., authors include Laurie Halse Anderson (Chains, Simon & Schuster Children's) and Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games, Scholastic). The day winds down with education seminars on co-op and mysteries and closes with an author autographing session.

ABA will have a booth on the GLBA trade show floor, where booksellers can meet with staff and learn about IndieBound and the association's many other services and products. Information will also be available about the Winter Institute 4 (Wi4), to be held in 2009 in Salt Lake City, Utah, from Thursday, January 29, through Sunday, February 1.

Booksellers can enter a raffle for a free trip to Wi4 (airfare and up to a two-night hotel stay for one person) by dropping a business card off at the ABA booth on the show floor. They can also enter the raffle a second time by updating their store profile via BookWeb.org. One winner will be chosen at random at the end of October from all entries received at the nine regional shows and via profile updates.

Registration materials, including ticket information and a full schedule of events with times and locations, is available on the GLBA website, www.books-glba.org. Questions about GLBA programming should be addressed to [email protected].

Questions and requests for information about ABA's participation at GLBA's trade show may be directed to Lisa Winn at [email protected]. --Karen Schechner