Education

In this session, booksellers will learn about best practices for password security.

More than 750 independent booksellers gathered this week in Baltimore for the 15th annual Winter Institute, a four-day educational and networking event marked by noted positivity among attendees from across the country and around the world.

The 16th annual Winter Institute will take place in Cincinnati, Ohio, from February 7 to February 10, 2021.

In this session, booksellers will participate in an open discussion about what technology made their businesses most efficient last year, what topics they want to see covered this year, and more.

Registration is open through January 10 for a range of special events, including an employee manual workshop, appointments with publishers, advanced education sessions, a bookselling boot camp, and more.

This opportunity will allow booksellers “to engage with their peers on topics and issues important to them and the larger bookselling community,” said ABA Senior Education Manager Lisa Winn.

The April 10 issue of BTW will feature a link to an online form booksellers and other industry professionals can use to pitch topics for Winter Institute education sessions along with presenters and moderators.

Bookseller members of ABA’s Educational Task Force offer suggestions to ABA staff members charged with developing educational programming for association events such as the Winter and Children’s Institutes.

"Word-for-word a well-crafted shelf talker can be the most effective means of recommending a book to an avid reader," said Joe Drabyak of Chester County Book & Music Company in West Chester, Pennsylvania.