NAIBA Launching Bookseller Professional Certification Program

Working with the ABA and other regional booksellers associations, the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association is creating a formal nationwide certification program for the bookselling industry that will have two components. Graduates will be designated Certified Professional Bookseller.

One certification program has five modules: Basic Bookselling, Staff & Human Resources, Store & Operations Management, Event Management and Inventory Management. Upon completion of each module, a bookseller will receive certification in that topic. When booksellers complete all five modules, they will receive the designation of Certified Professional Bookseller.

For seasoned booksellers, there's a stand-alone module, Career Bookseller Fast Track, which encompasses the information in the individual modules. Upon completion of the Fast Track, a bookseller will receive the designation of Certified Professional Bookseller.

Each course will have a dean, multiple instructors, assessment tools, exercises and homework, and required online and in-person courses. In-person instruction will take place at regional and national conferences.

NAIBA plans to launch the Event Management module this year, followed by the Career Bookseller Fast Track module. There will be course fees for each module, along with scholarships.

"For years, booksellers across the country have been asking for a 'career path' in bookselling," said Billy Reilly, co-owner of river's end bookstore, Oswego, N.Y., and president of NAIBA. "I believe that NAIBA's Professional Bookselling Certification will provide an important first step along this path."

"I've been in the industry for almost 40 years, and professionalism and training have always been a driving force behind national and regional programs," Eileen Dengler, executive director of NAIBA, added. "People have been asking for some recognition for bookselling skills, and now NAIBA will make it happen."

Any bookseller interested in becoming an instructor in any of the modules should contact Eileen Dengler via e-mail.

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