| Around the NAIBAhood | 
Shelly Plumb, owner of Harleysville Books in Harleysville, PA has announced the sale of her store to Stephanie Steinly, a five-year staff member who has worked operations and programming. Shelly has served as a NAIBA Board member, Children's Committee Member, hosted NAIBAhood Gatherings, and was a regular fixture at all NAIBA events. Congratulations and good luck to both! |
Don't forget to sign up yourself and/or staff for our upcoming events: (email: NAIBAbooksellers@gmail.com to be put on the list) Careers in Bookselling (March 13, NYC) New & Used books (April 6, Lititz, PA) - Even if you aren't working with used books, it is a good idea to learn about it so you can make educated decisions down the road. Conversations that Work (with ABA, in White Plains, NY on April 29) NAIBA has started putting together an Events/Publicity speed dating event in NYC in early/mid June. Watch the newsletter for more information. |
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Career In Bookselling
March 13, 2014 at Random House
With special thanks to our sponsors:
  
NAIBA is proud to present the program that all store owners wish they had time to do themselves for their newer employess - the training and insight into the life of a bookseller.
We will cover:
Structure & Finances of Bookselling
Industry Tree (who we work with, how and why)
Lunch - with featured authors
Jobs in stores
Manager
Events
Book buyer
Marketing / communications
How to Stand Out
What owners are looking for
What publishers are looking for
Best Practices
We will provide handouts of industry resources, terms, etc, and answer the myriad of questions that come up. Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, co-owner of Greenlight Books will be the keynote speaker, and on our program we have industry veterans like Toby Cox of Three Lives, Chris Doeblin of Book Culture, and Ruth Liebmann of Random House.
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Tools To Help
NAIBA has two programs that have a direct impact on book buying. Publisher Advocate Program has publishers sending marked up Edelweiss catalogs to bookstores who aren't receiving them. This provides booksellers with valuable assistance in placing orders, increasing sales and making informed buying decisions. Promotion Order Program is a weekly spreadsheet of the current specials from publishers. Sent to book buyers on Monday mornings, it is a great way to maximize purchasing by taking advantage of current special promotional programs. The program is so successful in the NAIBA region that it has gone national, with hundreds of book buyers receiving this spreadsheet every week. If you'd like more information, click on the program above, or email NAIBA. |
We need your help in our campaign for sales tax fairness
As you may have read in Bookselling This Week, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary has scheduled a full committee hearing on e-fairness for Tuesday, March 4. This is the moment when independent retailers like you can have a significant and lasting impact on the legislative process. This is the time to let your member of Congress know you support sales tax fairness. Over the years, I know we have called upon you many times to get engaged in the fight for sales tax equity, and, to say the least, we recognize it's been a long haul. But your efforts have resulted in both the passage of Federal legislation in the U.S. Senate and changes in 18 states that now do collect sales taxes on Internet sales. Your efforts have absolutely made a difference. In advance of the March 4 hearing, we are hoping you can do the following two items: - Provide ABA with written or video testimonials about how this issue impacts your business and the need for fairness. Please send your testimonial to ABA Senior Public Policy Analyst David Grogan at dave@bookweb.org. Please put "Testimonial" in the subject line.
- Please add your bookstore's name as a signatory to the letter, which the Marketplace Fairness Coalition will then send to Judiciary Chairman Goodlatte. To add your name to the letter, please just reply to Dave at dave@bookweb.org with your name, store name, and address. Please put "Signatory" in the subject line.
We urge you to take action TODAY. We have always believed that addressing this matter through federal legislation would make the most sense. We are closer than ever to achieving that goal, and your outreach is EXTREMELY important. Full letter from ABA can be found here. |
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Beach Retreat: See You Next Year
NAIBA's first Beach Retreat for Destination Stores was a great success! It was wonderful seeing some familiar faces and meeting new ones for the first time.
We started our Retreat at Rita Maggio's BookTowne in Manasquan, NJ. Rita's store provided us with an open forum where store owners and booksellers alike exchanged ideas and discussed the frustrations they face during their stretches of down time. Each bookseller shared with the group their store's individual challenges. Jack McKeown of Books and Books of Westhampton Beach discussed demographics and economics. He suggested stores visit their local newspapers and Chamber of Commerce to gain data on the local population. He also spoke of the Labor Day Bonus he implemented as an incentive for booksellers to work throughout the Labor Day weekend. Amanda Zirn talked about the money Bethany Beach Books owner Jackie Inman saved by studying the store's daily traffic and adjusting staff schedule accordingly. Alison Ramarge of Califon Bookshop told the group that her bestselling nonbook item, surprisingly, is the Snack Taxi. Together, booksellers proposed solutions to ease the difficulties they experience.
Following the discussion, attendees shared a delicious meal across the street at Remington's, where three authors with upcoming summer titles joined the group. Authors, Sarah Pekkanen (Catching Air, Atria), Susan Coll (The Stager, FSG) and Marie Rutkoski (The Winner's Curse, First Second Books) got one-on-one time while eating dinner with booksellers. After dinner, each author spoke about their upcoming books just before signing attendee copies.
After a long day of education, booksellers checked into their rooms at The Normandy Inn in Spring Lake. MariBeth Pelly from BookTowne led the breakfast discussion the following morning, that centered around working with other businesses, store events and marketing. The group shared their different event ideas, including Bethany Beach Books' Christmas in July and their Women and Wine Night; BookTowne's partnership with the Algonquin Arts Theatre; and Books and Books of Westhampton Beach collaboration project with a 4-star hotel/restaurant for Cocktails with Candace (Candace Bushnell, Sex and the City).
NAIBA would like to thank our sponsors First Second Books, Atria Books and Farrar, Straus, Giroux for making NAIBA's first Beach Retreat possible. |
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Indie First Storytime Day
May 17, 2014 - in your store
 Hoping to build on the success of last year's Indies First movement, the American Booksellers Association unveiled plans for Indies First Storytime Day, which is spearheaded by author Kate DiCamillo. On May 17, Indies First Storytime Day will be celebrated at independent bookstores nationwide in conjunction with Children's Book Week (May 12-18). ABA is working with the Children's Book Council "to help facilitate and grow the grassroots movement," Bookselling This Week reported.
In a letter to fellow authors and illustrators seeking volunteers, DiCamillo paid tribute to Sherman Alexie, who launched the original Indies First movement with a similar letter asking authors to be volunteer handsellers: "We are (with the express permission of Sherman Alexie, mind you) stealing this idea and running with it," she noted, adding that the volunteers will be asked to read from a children's book of their choice. "The point is to read aloud, to celebrate stories and to celebrate the indies who work so hard to put our stories in the hands of readers."
ABA has compiled a list of Indies First Event Participation Guidelines, noting ways in which authors and illustrators can support the movement both year-round and by participating in dedicated Indies First events. Links to all Indies First Storytime Day resources can be found on the ABA Promotions page on BookWeb.org
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Eileen Dengler
New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Assn |
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