BookED

Edelweiss Analytics , a tool created uniquely for indie booksellers, allows you to easily manage your inventory by integrating POS data into Edelweiss to analyze your stock, view order & sales history, and access aggregate market data without missing a beat. Whether your store uses Square or a bookstore-specific POS system, this conversation is for you. An Edelweiss team member in collaboration wi...

You've meticulously curated your inventory, designed the perfect displays, and developed an events program for your community — but how will you know if what you're doing is working? Tracking Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) will give you the answer. KPIs are specific outcome-based targets that support your strategic plan and can be measured quantitatively, such as inventory turnover ratios, sale...

Free Expression Friday is an interview series from ABA's  American Booksellers for Free Expression  celebrating the amazing work of booksellers, organizers, and book people in general fighting for the right to read. In this episode, ABA's Advocacy Associate Manager, Philomena Polefrone talks with Maggie Tokuda-Hall , an acclaimed Children's and YA author and one of the organizers of Authors Agains...

Investing in the leadership skills of your staff has both short-term and long-term benefits, from building a better culture for your team to identifying potential successors when you retire. In this session, Kim Scott, author of Radical Candor and the forthcoming Radical Respect, will teach you how to nurture staff into leadership roles, and evaluate the process for success! Speakers Kim Scott, au...

Clearly defined systems save time and mental energy and can set clear expectations for everyone on a team which means great (consistent!) results. These systems are the start of any training program and can even help improve employer/employee communication and increase sales! Sounds great, right? But where do we start with defining these systems? We start with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)....

Free Expression Friday is an interview series from ABA's  American Booksellers for Free Expression  celebrating the amazing work of booksellers, organizers, and book people in general fighting for the right to read. In this episode, ABA's Advocacy Associate Manager, Philomena Polefrone talks with Tara Lipsyncki (they/them), a drag performer, owner of Mosaics Community Bookstore & Venue in Provo, U...

Most of us know how to help when we see someone in cardiac arrest — we start CPR, or at the very least, call 9-1-1. But too few of us might know how to respond when we see a customer having a panic attack, or if we are concerned that a co-worker shows signs of alcoholism. Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is a training program that takes the fear and hesitation out of starting conversations about men...

Doris Kearns Goodwin is an acclaimed presidential historian, international keynote speaker, and Pulitzer Prize-winning, New York Times #1 bestselling author of books including Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, Leadership: In Turbulent Times, and the newly-released An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History.   Speakers Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of An Unfinished Love Stor...

Free Expression Friday is an interview series from ABA's  American Booksellers for Free Expression  celebrating the amazing work of booksellers, organizers, and book people in general fighting for the right to read. In this episode, ABA's Advocacy Associate Manager, Philomena Polefrone talks with Ronna Dewey, the Pennsylvania Program Director for Red Wine & Blue , a national advocacy organization...

As booksellers continue to be on the front lines of many consumer and human rights issues, the need for professionally-led training to keep booksellers safe has never been more important. In this session, participants will learn essential de-escalation skills and strategies to gracefully handle difficult customer interactions and defuse tensions while prioritizing staff safety. Empower yourself wi...

Independent bookstores are unique — your story, history, values, causes, and specialties are what differentiate you from others. Your "About Us" section on your website should be unlike anyone else's too! It's the easiest way, and one of the most important ways, to promote your store. Join this workshop on how to shift from a generic description about community and curation to one that reflects yo...

Free Expression Friday is an interview series from ABA's American Booksellers for Free Expression  celebrating the amazing work of booksellers, organizers, and book people in general fighting for the right to read. In this episode, ABA's Advocacy Associate Manager, Philomena Polefrone, chats with Lauren Groff about opening her bookstore in Florida, banned books, and celebrating Independent Booksto...

AI is rapidly becoming part of the day-to-day and booksellers are beginning to explore what that means for bookselling. Being pro-author and pro-employee doesn't have to mean being anti-AI or rejecting the opportunities that AI represents for the industry. Go beyond the AI hype with Director of ABA Technology Greg Galloway and ABA's Director of IndieCommerce Phil Davies as they consider AI's place...

Contemporary fiction increasingly invites the reader to see race, gender, and sexuality not as binary identities, but as a vibrant spectrum of diversity. This year's new fiction is opening up space for new ideas about how we might expand our understanding of identity and what myriad of relational dynamics are possible beyond the normative concepts of race, gender, and sexuality. In this keynote pa...

ABA's Lightning Talk series features booksellers presenting 5-10 minute talks on tech tools, organizational strategies, communication methods, or innovations they've made in their stores. On March 14, 2024, Angie Zhao of bbgb books (Richmond, VA) discussed  School Author Events . Files & Links Slide Deck   Additional bookstore education resources can be found at  www.bookweb.org .   Theme by  Cons...

The world of work has changed. New worker expectations, growing labor movements, pandemic trauma, increased need for de-escalation skills, and pandemic-induced skill gaps are creating new challenges and opportunities for managers and frontline employees. In this session, hear from an expert on current labor trends to consider when hiring, developing, and supporting staff. Speaker Nicolas Williams,...

Michele Norris is one of America's most trusted voices in journalism, earning numerous honors over a long career, including Peabody, Emmy, Dupont, and Goldsmith awards.  As founding director of The Race Card Project, a Peabody Award–winning narrative archive where people around the world share their reflections on identity—in just six words, she ignited the conversation with the seemingly simple p...

CoverHound is thrilled to present a special four-part webinar series for ABA members, Insuring Success: Business Insurance for Bookstores .   On March 28 at 3:00 pm ET, CoverHound presented part one of this series, Safeguarding Your Shelves: Business Insurance Basics for Book Retailers . In this webinar, tailored to book retailers and bookstore owners, CoverHound guides bookstore owners through th...

Keeping a bookstore running can feel like having too many tabs open in your brain at once. Luckily, there are project management tools and strategies that can help with that. In this presentation, booksellers who have cracked the code on project management will share the tools and strategies that have helped them set goals and timelines and stay organized with their short- and long-term projects....

In an industry with such slim margins, direct ordering can make all the difference to your bookstore's bottom line. In this session, Ted Hill of Pubnet/Pubeasy, Deidre Dumpson of Edelweiss, and a bookseller panelist will guide you through the key elements of creating a direct ordering strategy, and show you how to use Edelweiss to order frontlist and Pubnet/Pubeasy to order backlist directly from...

Every bookseller in the UK uses Batch to simplify their Accounts Payable and publisher invoice management and over 300 US booksellers (and growing!) are now using it. Come learn more about this free platform to: Automatically and electronically organize publisher invoices to reduce paperwork and free up time. Provide access to invoice information 24x7, enabling you to manage invoices when it's mos...

A well-planned seasonal inventory can result in big profits, while missing the mark can be a costly mistake. Buyers from a large urban store, a medium-sized store in a college town, and a bookmobile will discuss how they plan their seasonal inventory while keeping in mind store budgets, physical space, and more. Speakers Elese Stutts, Flyleaf Books - Chapel Hill, NC Kim Brock, Joseph-Beth Booksell...

Used books can meet a variety of needs for you and your customers. They offer customers a deeper selection with more accessible pricing, they reduce your cost of goods, and they reduce your carbon footprint. This panel will feature experienced booksellers from used bookstores who understand the process of curating used books and will walk you through best practices for buying, pricing, managing, a...

This information session hosted by the ABA team and your bookseller colleagues will answer questions like: What is Batch? What is license plate receiving? What are event grids? And more!  ABA will begin the discussion by reviewing industry opportunities you may not know about like RISE scholarships for booksellers and bookstore owners to visit international conferences and bookstores; Books Across...

Although you may be creating events that look successful, your return on investment might not be. Come to this session to learn what information you should be tracking, how to track it, and how to analyze this data so you can evaluate whether or not an event is worth your staff's time. Speaker Cindy Dach, Changing Hands Bookstore - Tempe, AZ Files & Links Slide Deck Recorded February 14, 2024 at W...