Space Still Available at Large-Store Roundtable

What established stores can do to increase sales will be the subject of a Large-Store Roundtable that was added to the American Booksellers Association's Day of Education at BookExpo America earlier this month. Carla Cohen of Politics & Prose Books & Coffee in Washington, D.C., will host and moderate the discussion, which will take place from 9:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m., on Thursday, May 29, in the Silver Lake Room on the third floor of Hotel ABA, the Renaissance Hollywood.

The roundtable is free and open to all ABA member stores. Booksellers interested in participating should send an e-mail to Chief Program Officer Len Vlahos (len@bookweb.org) with "Roundtable" in the subject line.

Topics up for discussion at the roundtable include:

• How can booksellers market to new customers and increase sales from existing customers? What are customers expecting from independent bookstores; what are they looking for? What are stores doing to attract the 25- to 35-year-old set?

• Are independent booksellers making full use of the Internet? Are they dedicating enough store resources to it? How can indies get more people to click onto their sites instead of Amazon.com?

• What new services can independents offer inside and outside the store to increase traffic and sales?