May 25, 2006 director. "The number one goal in our Strategic Plan calls for the TABLE OF CONTENTS: association to 'create an accessible education program that • ABA Launches Videos of Educational effectively meets the needs' of the membership. These online seminars, along with live events like BEA, the Winter Institute, and Programs Online .............................................. 1 the spring Bookseller Forums, move us further down the road of • High Marks for Education at a Productive BEA achieving that goal." .......................................................................... 1 At present, ABA Education Programs Online features videos of • In Defense of Independent Businesses ............ 3 three seminars from ABA's Day of Education at BookExpo • ABFFE Online Auction Adds Items From BEA America in New York City, in June 2005: .......................................................................... 5 • The 2% Solution -- Presented by Chuck Robinson of Village Books (Bellingham, Washington), this seminar focuses on the • ABA Annual Meeting Presentation Available ... 5 drivers of bookstore profitability and how they can be used to • Booksellers Offer Advice About Effective move a business to greater profitability. Ways to increase sales, E-Newsletters ................................................... 5 increase margin, control compensation, and control occupancy • BTW News Briefs ............................................. 6 expenses are discussed. • Children's Booksellers Focus on Selling • Increasing Margin -- Presented by ABA CEO Avin Mark Outside the Box ................................................ 6 Domnitz, this session shows how affecting gross profit margin • TRENDS 2006 Shows Small Pub Sales More can lead to increased profitability. Intended for booksellers Than Previously Estimated ............................... 8 already familiar with the principles of inventory management, • Weak Bookstore Sales in March ...................... 8 this content-rich seminar compares and contrasts a profitable and unprofitable bookstore. Topics covered include controlling • Obituaries ......................................................... 9 product mix, direct versus wholesale ordering, electronic • Special Promo on Credit Card Processing ordering, understanding the value of early payment discounts, Expires May 31 ................................................. 9 more efficient management of seasonal title orders, and more. BOOK SENSE THIS WEEK • Cost of Goods Sold 101 -- Presented by Vlahos, this seminar for • The 2006 Book Sense Summer Paperback owners, managers, and booksellers is an expansion of the Gross Picks and Notables Preview ............................. 9 Margin/Cost of Goods Sold component of the "The 2% • Bestseller List Reporting Deadline Extended Solution" seminar. It examines what Cost of Goods Sold is, how it fits into and affects a bookstore's operating results, and the .......................................................................... 10 best, easiest, most accurate way to calculate it. A bookseller • The Book Sense Religion & Spirituality cannot know if the bookstore is profitable if the Cost of Goods Bestseller List ................................................... 10 Sold is incorrect. Vlahos told BTW that selected sessions from last week's BookExpo MARKETPLACE America are scheduled to be available this fall. • Classifieds ........................................................ 10 Booksellers should note that, to properly view the presentations, • Other Advertising .............................................. 11 they should exit all other programs first. For Windows users, the videos are best viewed with the most current version of Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player. For Mac users, the presentations must be viewed with RealOne Player 9.0. These ABA Launches Videos of Educational presentations will not render properly in Mozilla browsers. A link Programs Online to more detailed information on systems requirements can be found on the pages of each individual session. May 25, 2006 -- This week, ABA announced the launch of "ABA Education Programs Online," a new benefit that provides ABA members with access to streaming video of ABA educational High Marks for Education at a programming. By simply clicking on the "Professional Productive BEA Development 1 " link on the BookWeb homepage, members can access ABA education programs, including "The 2% Solution," May 25, 2006 -- The venue was new, but many familiar faces were complete with videotaped presenters and PowerPoint slides. traversing the multilevel Washington Convention Center from Thursday to Sunday throughout last week's BookExpo America. "ABA is very excited to take this first step into the world of This year, 573 ABA member stores were preregistered for the multimedia distance learning," said Len Vlahos, ABA's education show, representing approximately one-third of all member © 2005 American Booksellers Association. http://news.bookweb.org/ 1 BOOKSELLING THIS WEEK May 25, 2006 bookstores, making this the largest percentage of total membership Another thing that Barberich feels very positive about is Constant at the trade show in recent memory. In addition, among the Contact, the web-based e-mail marketing service. "It's new, it's attendees were 57 prospective booksellers who had successfully great. I'm like a kid in a candy store," she told BTW . completed the ABA-sponsored Booksellers School (facilitated by Both Arlene Lynes, owner of Read Between the Lynes in Donna Paz and Mark Kaufman of Paz & Associates). Woodstock, Illinois, and Leah Brock, a buyer at Elliott Bay Booksellers who spoke to BTW at the show were lavish in their Bookstore in Seattle, found the education sessions, including praise for ABA's expanded education programming, and many Thursday's plenary session, "The Science of Independent smaller stores found great opportunities to meet with publishers Bookselling: Catching and Keeping Customers," presented by Paco and to confer with other booksellers. Many ABA members Underhill, enlightening. And both were also very impressed with mentioned the comfort of the ABA/Book Sense Lounge, where the ABA Lounge. "I went there to get an autographed copy of they relaxed after long walks on the trade floor. Others just said Water for Elephants ," Lynes said. "It was really a nice refuge," they love to talk books, anywhere, anytime. Brock added. "They even had refreshments." Chauni Haslet of All for Kids Books & Music in Seattle, Lynes, whose store will be one year old in July, found her previous Washington, who is a BEA veteran, told BTW , "What I love about participation in ABACUS essential. "I can't understand why anyone BEA is the networking. I get many ideas from other booksellers." wouldn't do it," she said. She had attended the sessions "Know Elizabeth Houghton Barden of Big Hat Books in Indianapolis also Your Customer" and "Independent Booksellers as Mavericks," and mentioned networking. She found the industry-wide exchange of found both useful. "We're just trying to survive. We're always information to be one of the most exciting aspects of BEA. "One looking for authors and ideas for events." way or another, your question always get asked, even if you're not Many booksellers left BEA this year with visions of "Killer doing the asking," she said. "And, one way or another, your Events" dancing in their heads. Lindsey McGuirk, events question always gets answered, whether it's by another bookseller, coordinator of Village Books in Bellingham, Washington, a publisher, or a presenter. By all of us being together, the common appreciated the suggestions by panelist Collette Morgan of Wild knowledge rises to the top." Rumpus in Minneapolis, at the "Creating Killer Events" session. Margaret Neville of The King's English in Salt Lake City "Collette had really fun ideas," said McGuirk. "She's someone I'll commented, "I love to stand around and talk to people who are definitely keep in touch with. And she's not afraid to do non-author reading." events. She had one event that was a 'Battle of the Garage Bands' for young teenage boys. The winners got two hours in a recording ABA education sessions, beginning Thursday morning, drew studio. It sounded like a fun event." record numbers of participants and many positive reviews. Rene Martin, events coordinator at Quail Ridge Books & Music in Annie Crane of Lift Bridge Book Shop in Brockport, New York, Raleigh, North Carolina, termed the education line-up, "the best also planned on borrowing Morgan's event concepts. "I loved her and most informative I've ever been to -- very organized and very 'Mummify Your Barbie' event. You could tie in all sorts of professional." Egyptian themes." Crane said that in addition to suggestions for events, the panel, which also included Mitchell Kaplan of Books & Thursday's morning session "Handselling: Customer Service with Books in Miami, distributed a "very practical" checklist that Results," presented by ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz and Casey included to-do lists for various stages of planning and hosting the Coonerty of Bookshop Santa Cruz in Santa Cruz, California, event before, during, and after. "This is very useful to make sure covered hiring and training great handsellers, as well as improving you're not forgetting something -- which can easily happen," said handselling methods. Heidi Nielsen of A Room of One's Own in Crane. Madison, Wisconsin, called the session extremely useful. "I appreciated how [Domnitz and