NAIBA & AMIBA Partner to Help Booksellers Create Indie Alliances

The New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA) has partnered with the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) in an effort to help its members create independent business alliances. NAIBA will help subsidize the cost of AMIBA membership for 11 members' independent business alliances and will sponsor AMIBA "road tours."

"For a few years now, ABA has been presenting educational sessions on independent business alliances, and that information has been out there for our booksellers," said NAIBA Executive Director Eileen Dengler. "But, given the challenges [of bookselling] day in and day out, we felt that people were not taking advantage of it. We think this will make a difference in their communities."

NAIBA will subsidize the cost of AMIBA membership for the first 11 NAIBA members whose independent business alliances join AMIBA. The cost to the local alliance will be $200, with NAIBA subsidizing the rest of the fee.

NAIBA will also be sponsoring a "road tour" of AMIBA workshops at member bookstores. A workshop will be held on September 13 at the Clinton Bookshop in Clinton, New Jersey; on September 14 at the Tudor Bookshop & Caf in Kingston, Pennsylvania; and on September 14 at Womrath's Bookstore in Tenafly, New Jersey. There will be a second "road tour" in late October that will include stops at The Spotty Dog in Hudson, New York, and bookstores in southern New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland.

Jeff Milchen of AMIBA told BTW, "We're excited about this. We believe this is going to lead to a new wave of alliances. If you have multiple alliances in one state, it means there is a greater chance that they can make an impact at the state level.

By partnering with AMIBA, Dengler said, NAIBA was making a statement about how important it believes independent business alliances are for booksellers. It is NAIBA's hope that, by helping pay for most of the AMIBA membership and providing the workshops, "building a local alliance is something that our members will focus on. It will change things for you, hopefully, in a big way.... It can only help." --David Grogan