On Demand Education Sessions

Holiday gift buying is not a last-minute task, but how does a gift buyer not only source but anticipate what will be a popular gift six months down the road? In this session, bookstores that have a unique collection of non-book items will teach buyers:

• The role seasonal non-book items play in holiday sales
• Best practices for discovering the next “it” holiday gift
• Efficiencies and systems for ordering and reordering, shipment scheduling, and storing holiday gift items
• How to move, move, move items that may not be selling

Attachment	Size
Buying Non-Book for the Holidays Presentation (PDF)	1.48 MB

IndieCommerce™ is the ABA’s e-commerce platform for independent bookstores. The system provides the tools for indie bookstores to create unique, content-rich, and easy-to-operate, fully transactional, e-commerce enabled websites. Over the past few years, the IndieCommerce team has been working closely with booksellers to to help them achieve their online marketing and sales goals. This session will highlight some of the most impactful changes that individual stores have made to their websites over the past year, including before and after examples.

Attachment	Size
Fundraising with IndieCommerce pdf	257.18 KB
Book Lists and Wish Lists with IndieCommerce pdf	246.13 KB
IndieCommerce Can Probably Do That for Your Website Presentation (PDF)	4.48 MB

Graphic novels can be a useful springboard into reading for reluctant readers, but they can also serve as a vehicle to launch readers into the symbiotic relationship between text and visuals. In this session, attendees will learn from booksellers and experts:

• How the role of graphic novels has evolved in the bookstore and literacy
• How to have a productive conversation with staff and customers about graphic novels
• Types of programming that highlight and elevate the genre
• The importance and impact of the representation of diverse characters in graphic novels
• What the current educational terrain looks like and how bookstores can work with school libraries to incorporate graphic novels into the curriculum

Attachment	Size
Graphic Novel Additional Recommendations pdf	493.48 KB
Graphic Novel Additional Resources pdf	86.22 KB
Graphic Novels Guide for the Classroom pdf	1.53 MB
Experiential Reading - Graphic Novels Presentation (PDF)	1.44 MB

Edelweiss+Analytics is excited to present the new Shelf Report, created to help bookstores succeed against competitive pressures by providing unique decision intelligence. This new tool provides benchmarks for your store’s inventory, using the aggregate performance of hundreds of other independent bookstores on four key measures of sales and inventory health – across genres. Join us to learn more about how this tool can help you view your store from the outside-in and point to where you can focus your attention to make sure your inventory is working its hardest for you.

On April 28, indie booksellers will celebrate the fifth annual Independent Bookstore Day (IBD). In this panel, new concepts and a new ordering system will be revealed. Attendees will hear from booksellers who have figured out how to make the most of IBD and increase their sales dramatically. It takes a little effort and imagination, but having a highly successful Independent Bookstore Day doesn’t have to tax your staff or break the bank. Booksellers will learn:

• How to order and make the most of the IBD exclusive merchandise
• How to throw a party that will get people into your store
• How to publicize your store’s party
• How to take advantage of social media

Attachment	Size
How to Make Bookstore Day a Smashing Success (PDF)	300.39 KB
Independent Bookstore Day Presentation (PDF)	4.79 MB

Scenario: your store's children's bookseller is out sick and not one general bookseller has even an inkling about kids’ books. Never fear! Geared towards general booksellers with ZERO experience in the kid’s department, children’s frontlist booksellers on this panel will provide a crash course to prepare any bookseller to head into the children's department. In the session, general booksellers will learn:

• Key phrases to use when selling a kids book
• Important questions to ask a child and a parent when selecting a book
• Signs to look for when selecting a book (shelf talkers, inferences from the cover)
• Basic important information to always have in their back pocket
• Where to look for recommendations

Attachment	Size
Kids' Books Recommendations pdf	445.72 KB
Reference Books for Children's Booksellers pdf	165.83 KB
Children's Literature Awards pdf	245.42 KB
Crash Course in Kids' Bookselling Presentation (PDF)	2.26 MB

Bookstores that sell direct to schools are an invaluable resource to the local community and a successful strategy for increasing cash flow and profits. Bookseller panelists who have worked closely with their school districts will share with Institute attendees how they too can foster a relationship with school districts and add to their stores’ bottom line. In this session booksellers will learn:

• How to find appropriate school contacts
• How to create teacher wishlists
• How to become a school’s one-stop book fair distributor
• How to manage in-school author visit orders
• Best practices for orders
• How to establish and manage subscription services

Attachment	Size
Ahead of the Curve Subscription Service (PDF)	116.35 KB
Cynthia Lord Appearance Pre-Order Form Price List pdf	94.12 KB
Book Fair Template docx	14.72 KB
Candace Fleming author order form (docx)	146.08 KB
Eric Dinerstein author order form (doc)	53 KB
ABC Group Selling Direct to Schools Presentation (PDF)	1.48 MB

Pre-orders are becoming an increasingly important way in which books are sold and marketed in 2018, and indie bookstores can and should take part in this growing business. Heavily influenced by television and social media, the months before a title’s publication are critical, and pre-orders are a growing component of a book’s ultimate sales. By working with publishers to take full advantage of pre-order opportunities, indie bookstores can avoid lost sales, lost PR, and lost market share. In this session, panelists will discuss ways that stores can successfully promote and sell pre-orders to become an integral partner to publishers and authors. Learn about new methods developed and tested by a task force of indie stores--including processes and protocols for stores using various POS systems--that all stores can use to maximize pre-orders through marketing, tracking, and reporting. The session will include bookseller participation from the pre-order task force.

Attachment	Size
Reporting Pre-Orders POS Cheat Sheet pdf	162.53 KB
Maximizing and Marketing Pre-Order Sales Presentation (PDF)	6.49 MB

Being an independent bookstore in today’s retail environment means working tirelessly to stay connected with your community while also promoting yourself online as an alternative to other online retailers. All independent retailers, not just booksellers, are meeting this challenge in various ways. Come to this session to hear from Albuquerque’s independent retailer stars, ask questions, and discover ideas to apply to your bookstore.

Attachment	Size
Stars of Albuquerque Indie Retail Presentation (PDF)	2.52 MB

Join your colleagues for a discussion on creating events and opportunities to highlight women's voices in the store and larger retail community. Hear from booksellers who are fostering women entrepreneurs, cross-promoting with women-owned businesses, creating dynamic in-store programming, and more. ABA members know that a diverse business district promotes a thriving local economy, and they are finding ways to ensure their stores, their communities, and their business districts are as dynamic and profitable as possible.

Attachment	Size
Bookshop Santa Cruz Women's Voices pdf	1017.14 KB
Yes She Can: Programs and Partnerships to Empower Women Presentation (PDF)	3.69 MB

Community educators are important bookstore allies. They work closely with children, and children need books! Making sure bookstores are carrying what teachers are recommending is essential to strengthening the relationship between the two. In this session, event planners and buyers will share how they have implemented and had success hosting Educator Nights. Booksellers will learn:

• Why Educator Nights are important
• How to build a bookstore’s list of educator contacts
• The type of information educators are seeking out when they come to an in-store Educator Night

Important topics to discuss at these events

Attachment	Size
Educator Night Passport pdf	54.7 KB
Hosting A+ Educator Nights Presentation (PDF)	2.65 MB

If the thought of playing board games brings up childhood memories of Monopoly and Risk and not much else, you have some catching up to do. Board games are a hot trend and a growing business. And they’ve grown a lot more sophisticated than what you might remember. The popular digital games that have made the leap to board games, the games inspired by viral internet challenges, and the traditional games of your childhood all have something in common: face-to-face social interaction, which is a key component of successful independent bookstores. Come hear from booksellers who have integrated board games and play nights into their sales and events. An independent board game seller joins the panel to discuss the aspects of his business and how booksellers can bring games -- and customers -- into the bookstore.

Attachment	Size
Game Day Flyer pdf	241.32 KB
Bringing Play and Revenue into the Store: Board Games are Back Presentation (PDF)	3.15 MB

Never has there been a greater need for diverse and international voices in the American market. In this session, panelists will discuss practices they have brought back to their stores from their experiences with Bookselling Without Borders, a fellowship program that sends U.S. booksellers to foreign book fairs as part of a book industry professional exchange program. Among other things, the Bookselling Without Borders program seeks to help booksellers develop concrete ideas for increasing sales of diverse and international literature in the indie market.

Attachment	Size
Selling International and Diverse Books Presentation (PDF)	6.6 MB

Working with self-published authors can be a profitable endeavor.  In this session, a panel of booksellers will discuss how to create partnerships with self-published authors to benefit both the author and the bookstore's bottom line.

• Liesl Freudenstein, Boulder Book Store (Boulder, CO)
• Sam Kass, Village Books (Bellingam, WA)
• Jane Streeter, The Bookcase (Nottinghamshire, England)
• Meg Smith, ABA (White Plains, NY) (Moderator)
   

Attachment	Size
Boulder Bookstore Consignment Authors Brochure (PDF)	938.88 KB
Village Books Self Published Books Submission Guidelines (PDF)	97.31 KB
Village Books Author Agreement Consignment Program (PDF)	78.02 KB
Village Books Self Published Authors Event Questionnaire (PDF)	195.08 KB
Village Books Self Published Books Pricing Specs (PDF)	109.38 KB
Village Books Event Package Description for Consignment Authors (PDF)	94.56 KB
Village Books Self Published Authors Consignment Agreement (PDF)	84.86 KB
Village Books Self Published Authors Consignment Event Agreement (PDF)	111.93 KB