The American Booksellers Association's third annual Winter Institute, which ended yesterday in Louisville, Ky., was another outstanding event marked by excellent speakers and programming, several highly topical themes and bookseller energy and enthusiasm. Congratulations to the ABA!
Although neither theme was new to booksellers, green and environmental concerns and the buy local/local business alliance movement both had extra resonance because of national trends. Ever more Americans want to live and conduct business in green, environmentally friendly ways, and attendees and speakers agreed that booksellers have many opportunities to tap into this desire and even lead the way, from running businesses in a green manner to educating customers through books, events and example. In a related vein, many Americans are coming to understand the value of buying local products and supporting local businesses. Besides economic, social and cultural advantages--towns with healthy main streets tend to have residents who are healthier by most any measure--areas with strong local businesses and local trade are more environmentally friendly than decentralized towns with far-flung malls and shopping centers. As Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy, said at Saturday's luncheon, "The big box store is just a machine for global warming."
Once again, the Winter Institute was an opportunity for 500 bookseller attendees to catch up with old friends and meet booksellers--and learn, learn, learn. During sessions and in informal conversations, booksellers shared tips and ideas on a range of topics, and people queried one another about all kinds of nuts-and-bolts bookselling issues, from hot titles and favorite reads to hiring tips and the merits of different inventory control systems. No subject was too particular or small for friendly discussion.
Many veteran booksellers were cheered by the large number of younger booksellers in attendance and felt more confident that a new generation, encouraged by the Emerging Leaders group, will eventually fill their shoes. As one longtime retailer put it, "It's so great to see wildly colored hair, piercings and tattoos mixed among the gray hair." At one panel, there was a show of hands that strikingly reflected the odd current demographics of bookselling. A good amount of the attendees indicated they had been in bookselling less than five years; another sizable group had been booksellers for more than 20 years; while only a few had been in bookselling 5-20 years.
This week and next, Shelf Awareness, with help from intrepid reporter Susan L. Weis, owner of breathe books, Baltimore, Md., will have detailed reports on many of the Winter Institute's sessions and speeches. For now, here are a few items that aren't exactly hard news but are fun to relate:
Congratulations on several counts to Len Vlahos, ABA's chief program officer, and Kristen Gilligan Vlahos, ABA's director of meetings and events. The cute pair were married last year and are, as Len put it to Shelf Awareness, expecting "a new bookseller" whose arrival is predicted to occur during BEA. Don't plan on seeing either Vlahos in Los Angeles.
Congratulations as well to the delightful Jenn Northington, who handles special events and marketing at the King's English, Salt Lake City, Utah. By volunteering to play in a Consumer Behavior Revealed seminar skit modeled on the Dating Game (she picked bachelor No. 2, who likes to hang out at Carmichael's, the Louisville indie), she won a free trip to BEA in Los Angeles. Incidentally our favorite exchange of the Dating Game involved the snobby character who when asked what he had read lately, said that he preferred to be seen reading rather than read, and lately he had been seen reading Finnegans Wake at a cafe. Prodded by M.C. Len Vlahos about what he had read lately, he responded, "The cover of Finnegans Wake."
On behalf of all attendees, we want again to thank former ABA president Mitchell Kaplan, owner of international bookseller Books & Books, with headquarters in Coral Gables, Fla., who had the idea of holding an event for ABA members featuring educational programming without the distraction of a concurrently run trade show.
The next Winter Institute will be held January 29-31, 2009, in Salt Lake City, Utah.--John Mutter