The NAIBAhood Is Hopping

This spring, the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA) is offering a number of gatherings to provide booksellers from the region with local networking and learning opportunities. The meetings cover such topics as store design, community value, handselling tips, and the digital revolution.

Here is a look at the upcoming spring gatherings:

• "Store Design" will be held on Sunday, April 15, from 10:00 a.m. - noon (with lunch to follow), at McNally Robinson Booksellers in New York City. Here, Sarah McNally will discuss how to make book retail an "experience," with surroundings that welcome customers, delights their senses, and encourages them to linger. Booksellers are invited to attend to share their ideas on store design.
  
  
• "Increasing Sales by Forging a Solid Connection With Your Local Schools Through Author & Illustrator Visits," including a lunch with authors, will be held on Sunday, April 22, at Booktenders' Secret Garden in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Here, host Ellen Mager will discuss how bringing authors and illustrators into schools is a "huge" piece of Booktender's business and how she built her business with authors and illustrators.
  
  
• "Community Value" will be held on Wednesday, April 25, at Good Yarns Bookshop, in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Booksellers are invited to join several other booksellers, and host Amanda Lydon, to discuss the things they are doing in their communities to position themselves and generate additional sales.
  
  
• An ABA Booksellers Forum and Education Program will be held in conjunction with NAIBA on Wednesday, April 25, from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Carrier Circle in Syracuse, New York. Read more.
  
  
• "The Art of Midlist and Author-less Events" will be held on Sunday, April 29, from 10:00 a.m. - noon, with lunch directly after, at Clinton Bookshop in Clinton, New Jersey. Host Harvey Finkel will discuss the ways in which Clinton Bookshop has mastered midlist and authorless events, working with local businesses to create exciting days and nights-out for the community. Attendees will learn how Finkel sets it all in motion and meet some publishers who will discuss how to approach publishers for support.
  
  
• An ABA Booksellers Forum and Education Program will be held in conjunction with NAIBA on Sunday, May 6, from 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. at Chester County Book & Music Company in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Read more.