1.
What
is your vision as the chief executive officer of the American Booksellers
Association?
ABA is the national trade
association of independent booksellers. I have been ABA’s CEO for more than six
years, and I have been privileged to have been able to have worked on behalf of
booksellers for more than 20 years, beginning in 1990 as ABA’s Associate
Executive Director, then working as the association’s Director of Governmental
Affairs, as the founding President of the American Booksellers Foundation for
Free Expression, and then as ABA’s Chief Operating Officer.
Over the last few years, we in the
U.S. have seen unprecedented change in our industry -- in the way books are
written, edited, and published; how these books are sold; and, with the growth
of e-books, even how they are read. Amidst all these changes, ABA, too, has
adapted and changed. Founded in 1900, ABA is a not-for-profit trade association
whose mission is to help our members -- independent bookstores -- operate
successful bookstores. We do this by providing them education, important
business information, business products and services, marketing support, and,
also, by advocating on their behalf within the industry and our state and
national government.
For independent booksellers, the
past few decades have been a time of almost constant innovation and
re-imagining of their business models, as they worked hard to stay relevant to
consumers and respected in the industry. Our goal at ABA has been to give them
the education, professional development, and the business tools they need to
fulfill their business goals.
Very much so....after many years of decline, the
resurgence in indie bookselling in the US is an unmistakable trend; and, I am
confident it will continue. How is ABA helping this to happen?
One of the most important ways that
ABA helps this to happen is by offering year-round education to members. Our
biggest initiative in this is our annual educational summit, the Winter
Institute. This year, ABA’s 10th Annual Winter Institute was held in Asheville,
North Carolina, in February. The event 10 featured four plenary talks
(including author Steven Johnson) and 31 sessions and workshops (including one
led by Ryan Raffaelli, of the Harvard Business School), as well as an
Introduction to Bookselling Workshop. ABA also conducts a shorter institute
that focuses on children’s bookselling, held in April in Pasadena, California,
which featured 10 education sessions, and three keynote presentations. And,
throughout the year, ABA offers educational sessions to members in a number of
different locations nationwide.
ABA also is helping members leverage
technology. We have made a substantial investment IndieCommerce.com -- an
e-commerce tool developed especially for independent bookstores. In addition,
through a partnership with the Canadian eBook and eReader company Kobo, ABA
members can sell digital content to their customers in a wide array of devices
and platforms.
Another
critically important factor in the resurgence of indie stores has been the
localism movement, the
rapidly growing awareness among shoppers of the important role locally owned,
independent businesses play in their communities. Now, more than ever, American
shoppers value authenticity, they want to connect with and to strengthen their
communities, and they recognize that bigger is not always better. As more and
more Main Streets lose the unique institutions and retailers that made them
special, people are deciding that this loss of character and sense of place is
not what they want for their cities and towns.
ABA
has been fortunate to help lead the way in the shop local movement. In 2008, we
launched our IndieBound program, which combines a clearly articulated series of
messages about the key role all indie businesses play in their communities with
cooperative marketing programs that booksellers can employ in conjunction with
their neighboring businesses. And a key element of that message is that
independent businesses circulate far more of the dollars spent back into their
communities, and that they play an essential role in building and sustaining
healthy local communities.
The most important things that stores can do to
insure their continued success is to focus on what distinguishes us from the
competition; and, remain a physical place that is fun to shop in; and; is full
of limitless opportunities to discover books.
4.
What
advice would you give to someone opening up a new bookstore?
Get connected with your community; work with other
locally owned businesses; do events; take advantage of all the new technologies
that help you communicate with your customers; plug-in to the network of other
indie bookstores; and, keep reading!
5.
Indie booksellers are the smartest and most entrepreneurial group of
businesspeople you'll find anywhere. Their passion is contagious! Add more to talk about why
communities need their indies
6.
Where
do you see the book industry heading?
I said at a meeting - just this week - that I am
unalterably convinced that despite the multiple challenges we face - the best days
for indie bookstores lie ahead!
For the sixth
year in a row ABA bookstore membership has grown, with stores operating in more
than 2,200 locations. Also, as a channel, independent bookstore sales are up.
While not every bookstore or community has not seen this growth, the national
trends are clear. In addition, nationally in the U.S., new stores are opening,
established stores are finding new owners, and a new generation is coming into
the business as both owner/managers and frontline booksellers. All of this is a
result of the fact that indie booksellers remain a resilient and
entrepreneurial group.
I think the
secret to this success -- perhaps the most important factor fueling the
renaissance in indie bookselling -- is that independent booksellers recognize
that they have an obligation to adapt. Indie bookstores are a permanent work in
progress. They are changing every day.
In a world of
such vast and accelerating change, we are discovering that small is better, and
that the nimble can adapt more quickly, can turn on a dime, can experiment, and
-- not burdened with layers of management and infrastructure -- can profitably
implement necessary change.
In
2014-2015, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression merged with
ABA, becoming a new division, the American Booksellers for Free Expression
(ABFE). ABFE is the bookseller's voice in the fight for free speech. Its
mission is to promote and protect the free exchange of ideas, particularly
those contained in books, by opposing restrictions on the freedom of speech;
issuing statements on significant free expression controversies; participating
in legal cases involving First Amendment rights; collaborating with other
groups with an interest in free speech; and providing education about the
importance of free expression to booksellers, other members of the book
industry, politicians, the press and the public. You can find more information about
ABFE here: http://www.bookweb.org/abfe
8.
Why
is owning a book store different than any other kind of retail venture?
While we do have much in common with other indie
retailers, books are different from other products; and, as booksellers we play
a special role in the cultural lives of our communities.
9.
How
can we encourage bookstores to hold more events – and to be creative in what is
held at their stores?
While the events calendar in many stores is very robust;
it can always get better. In a world in which so many of us spend so much time
in front of a computer screen; it is clear that people want to engage - in
person - with other people - and, bookstore events are the perfect place for
that to happen.
10. Read any good books of late?
Just finishing David McCullough's new book about
the Wright brothers.....it's great!
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Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions,
and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer.
You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him
at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the
third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2015
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