Benefits of NAIBA Membership
Summer Conference
Our annual conference is live in 2023! We'll be meeting August 7 - 10 in Arlington, VA. We're once again partnering with the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) for our New Voices, New Rooms model conference. Booksellers will enjoy three full days of education, networking, bookstore tours, author events, and awards ceremonies. We chose August so publishers can show off their fall and holiday titles at the exact time your fall buying cycle begins! Reps will be there to help you sell books using winning marketing tips, author appearances, and promotional products.
Publicity Speed Dating
NAIBA loves our stores, and we work hard behind the scenes to make sure everyone succeeds. Twice yearly we offer Publicity Speed Dating, a chance for stores to pitch their store and their event program to a wide variety of publishers. These 15 minutes speed dates help stores recruit author visits and build relationships with publicists. The live version happens in New York City, where stores travel from table to table handing out their publicity kits, their strengths, and their author dream lists. The virtual version is shared with our partners at SIBA, and stores have a 15 minute time slot to pitch their stores while their publicity kit is displayed on screen.
To help our stores shine, we have materials on how to create your publicity kit, along with samples from our store. Check out the list! If your store's kit isn't posted, e-mail us - we know that publicists check this page when they are looking for homes for their author events.
Summer & Holiday Catalog
NAIBA has two catalogs available to its member booksellers. A full-color, 8 page summer catalog (unimprinted) and a 12-page, full-color catalog for the holiday season. NAIBA members can order a substantial quantity FREE of charge. Exceptional regional and national titles are showcased with appealing descriptions and full-color jacket covers. You may use saturation mailings through the post office for greater impact; distribute via mail to your house list; distribute in-store and in your community; and insert into local newspapers. These catalogs generate new sales to new and existing customers.
NAIBAhood Gatherings
Refresh your mind and restore your energy! In the winter and spring, booksellers around the region congregate with peers closer to home, circulating ideas, doling out advice, and benefiting from personal discussions. We host retreats as well, so you can commune with like-minded booksellers and discuss business. Gatherings are FREE for NAIBA members; retreats have a small fee.
Publisher Advocate
Sales are lost if you don't know early on what titles are receiving publishers' support, and it can be overwhelming reviewing catalogs without a reps' input. NAIBA has a solution. Publisher Advocates are sales reps who have volunteered to provide marked-up Edelweiss catalogs to accounts who don't work with a rep. Sign up to be part of a program that demonstrates our industry's efforts to ensure the success of everyone.
Publisher Promotion
NAIBA compiles all the publishers specials in one spreadsheet and emails the excel file to book buyers on Monday morning. Don't lose track of promotions - sign up to be on this email distribution list.
Professional Booksellers School / Certification Program
In 2019, the NAIBA board approved a proposal from its executive director, Eileen Dengler, to create a certification program for booksellers, providing in-depth education in all areas of bookselling. NAIBA has funded the development of the courses and growth of the new nonprofit organization, Professional Booksellers School, Inc. NAIBA members who successfully complete a certification course receive a scholarship that funds the course fees. In addition, registration fees are reduced for NAIBA members.
NAIBAhood News & Online Communications
Weekly postings and online conversations are available to members on the NAIBA website. Are you getting our weekly bestseller list and industry updates? If not, email us to be added to our distribution list. Our email lists are not sold or given out to anyone.
Opening a Bookstore
The Bookstore Training and Consulting Group of Paz & Associates works in partnership with the American Booksellers Association to offer training programs for new owners of independent bookstores. Click here for more details.
AMIBA (Local Alliances)
American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) is a dedicated group of local merchants working to create local alliances and buy-local programs across the country. NAIBA is a member of AMIBA which entitles NAIBA members to a substantially reduced membership fee for members' own local alliances. AMIBA shows us how to petition the government to prevent the chaining of our community, create cooperative business deals, and teach consumers to buy locally and independently.
Advocacy
NAIBA works closely with ABA on the e-fairness legislative issue, keeping you informed on your state's legislative agenda and providing the materials and templates to send to your elected officials. NAIBA also is your voice with publishers on business practices.