Register Now for Advanced Education Sessions at Winter Institute

Booksellers who are registered for the American Booksellers Association’s 14th annual Winter Institute in Albuquerque are encouraged to register now for several Advanced Education Sessions on offer, including:

“Developing Leaders in Your Store, with Alden Mills,” in which owners and managers will learn how to identify and train staff who will take on more, provide leadership for others, grow with the business, and represent the store in the community. There will be two sessions on Thursday, January 24: 9:20 a.m. to 10:20 a.m. and 3:40 p.m. to 4:40 p.m. These sessions are for owners and managers only and free of charge; space is limited and registration is first-come, first-served.

Staff Management and Human Resources (Tuesday, January 22, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.): Topics will include the challenges of recruitment and retention as well as the dynamics involved in creating a diverse workforce representing multiple generations of employees. Pre-registration is required at a cost of $40 per person.

Design for Strategic In-Store Merchandising (Tuesday, January 22, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.): This session will address the growing challenges of booksellers’ retail and online business through a series of hands-on activities, lectures, and discussions. Attendees will learn how to incorporate new digital marketing concepts, technologies, and methodologies into visual merchandising while participating in breakout sessions and group presentations aimed at solving a series of real-life visual merchandising problems. Pre-registration is required at a cost of $45 per person.

The Used Bookstore Forum (Tuesday, January 22, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.): In this session, veteran booksellers and newbies will discuss the art of selling used and rare books and cover topics including merchandising policies, inventory acquisition, events, displays, remainders, online sales, and store layout. Pre-registration for this free session is required; e-mail ABA Senior Education Manager Lisa Winn to register.

Other sessions at Winter Institute that require pre-registration to attend are Paz & Associates’ “Opening a Bookstore” Workshop for new and prospective owners and the IndieCommerce Institute. Neither of these require registration to Winter Institute, and the Paz Workshop grants paid admission to the Institute.

Winter Institute 14 will be held January 22–25, 2019, at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Booksellers can check out the full Wi14 program here. The institute is sponsored by Ingram Content Group and publishers large and small. Questions about Wi14 can be sent to [email protected].