Saturday, October 09, 2004
GLBA Day 2
The exhibit floor opened up at...okay, I won't pretend I was up when the floor opened. But when I did make it to the show floor, here's what I saw:
Random House had a fun trivia contest with jacket covers missing all text. The game was to identify the book from the jacket image. The prize was a basket of backlist titles. I think I got about 30%, felt good about getting 1000 Days in Venice, had no clue about the Greek art and antiquity title.
I loved Random House's new title, Wild About Books. It's a picture book about a librarian who drives her bookmobile into the zoo. At first the animals stay away, but soon each of them approaches the bookmobile and begin checking out books. Hippos are cuddling up with favorite stories, otters are reading Harry Potter, and porcupines are penning their memoirs. Cute story that evokes the rhyme of Dr Seuss.
University of Michigan Press has a new nature essay collection, Natural Coincidence: The Trip From Kalamazoo by Bil Gilbert. Gilbert grew up in Kzoo and then traveled the world. I love any book with enough guts to put the word "Kalamazoo" in the title.
Speaking of the Zoo, I had my own crazy natural coincidence happen this week. I ran into Matt Norcross, son of McLean and Eakin owner Julie Norcross. He graduated a year ahead of me at our college. Strange. His current roommate and I were in a college comedy improv troupe together. The book world, and the real world, are small places.
Chagrin River Publishing Company had a great idea for a unique booth promotion. Illustrator Jenny Campbell attended the show to promote Max's Rules. Any store that placed an order at the booth received a personalized illustration from Jenny, created on the spot on a big pad like a caricature artist. What a smart incentive for a store! Place an order, get a unique piece of art for the store.
Mark Fleeman of Fujii Associates is a saint among sales reps. He's been incredibly encouraging to me during this, my first year as a sales rep. I'm thankful for the help he's given me so far.
Finlay, OH is about to get a 12,000 sq ft independent bookstore. Opening is set for November for the book/music/cafe location called Gallant's. It'll have a boardwalk with streetlights inside the store, plus plenty of cafe seating. Very encouraging news for the region. It's the fourth new bookstore I've heard of since July.
BookScan is looking to expand bookstore reporters in the Midwest. Their program can only grow stronger if more stores report to make it a more accurate reflection of real-time sales. Stores can only gain stronger voices if they contribute to programs like BookScan. This isn't a zero-sum game. The data stores provide helps all independent bookstores grow stronger. Plus, you'll get free access to reports on what's selling nationwide, in your region, etc. I plan to blog more about this, because the idea of increased information sharing is a necessary corner the independent bookselling world needs to turn. We're almost there.
Stores that want to start reporting to BookScan should contact David Lopez, feel free to email me for Dave's contact info.
UBIC System had a booth near the front of the showfloor. UBIC (Used Book Inventory Control) is a POS system for Used bookstores, similar to Square One or Wordstock for New bookstores. UBIC seemed like a good system, particularly the ability to keep a list of titles customers have purchased so they don't repurchase a mystery they've already read. The downside is that it seems more suited for a small used bookstore that deals mostly in mass market paperbacks. There are plenty of these stores, so I'm glad they have a custom system. But I doubt this is the right solution for an antiquarian store. I could be wrong, I didn't test it for very long.
It's official, Taschen's midwest rep has left the position. They'll be advertising for resumes soon. It could be a good job, but I won't be going for it. At the moment, I'm very happy where I'm at.
Jen Leo made it to the show! Everyone click over to www.writtenroad.com to celebrate! She's as cool in person as on her blog, and I'm not just saying that because I know she'll read this post.
Tonight's the reception, dinner, and quiz bowl. If you're at the show and happen to read this in the next four hours, come hang out at the quiz bowl and for a few drinks afterward.
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Random House had a fun trivia contest with jacket covers missing all text. The game was to identify the book from the jacket image. The prize was a basket of backlist titles. I think I got about 30%, felt good about getting 1000 Days in Venice, had no clue about the Greek art and antiquity title.
I loved Random House's new title, Wild About Books. It's a picture book about a librarian who drives her bookmobile into the zoo. At first the animals stay away, but soon each of them approaches the bookmobile and begin checking out books. Hippos are cuddling up with favorite stories, otters are reading Harry Potter, and porcupines are penning their memoirs. Cute story that evokes the rhyme of Dr Seuss.
University of Michigan Press has a new nature essay collection, Natural Coincidence: The Trip From Kalamazoo by Bil Gilbert. Gilbert grew up in Kzoo and then traveled the world. I love any book with enough guts to put the word "Kalamazoo" in the title.
Speaking of the Zoo, I had my own crazy natural coincidence happen this week. I ran into Matt Norcross, son of McLean and Eakin owner Julie Norcross. He graduated a year ahead of me at our college. Strange. His current roommate and I were in a college comedy improv troupe together. The book world, and the real world, are small places.
Chagrin River Publishing Company had a great idea for a unique booth promotion. Illustrator Jenny Campbell attended the show to promote Max's Rules. Any store that placed an order at the booth received a personalized illustration from Jenny, created on the spot on a big pad like a caricature artist. What a smart incentive for a store! Place an order, get a unique piece of art for the store.
Mark Fleeman of Fujii Associates is a saint among sales reps. He's been incredibly encouraging to me during this, my first year as a sales rep. I'm thankful for the help he's given me so far.
Finlay, OH is about to get a 12,000 sq ft independent bookstore. Opening is set for November for the book/music/cafe location called Gallant's. It'll have a boardwalk with streetlights inside the store, plus plenty of cafe seating. Very encouraging news for the region. It's the fourth new bookstore I've heard of since July.
BookScan is looking to expand bookstore reporters in the Midwest. Their program can only grow stronger if more stores report to make it a more accurate reflection of real-time sales. Stores can only gain stronger voices if they contribute to programs like BookScan. This isn't a zero-sum game. The data stores provide helps all independent bookstores grow stronger. Plus, you'll get free access to reports on what's selling nationwide, in your region, etc. I plan to blog more about this, because the idea of increased information sharing is a necessary corner the independent bookselling world needs to turn. We're almost there.
Stores that want to start reporting to BookScan should contact David Lopez, feel free to email me for Dave's contact info.
UBIC System had a booth near the front of the showfloor. UBIC (Used Book Inventory Control) is a POS system for Used bookstores, similar to Square One or Wordstock for New bookstores. UBIC seemed like a good system, particularly the ability to keep a list of titles customers have purchased so they don't repurchase a mystery they've already read. The downside is that it seems more suited for a small used bookstore that deals mostly in mass market paperbacks. There are plenty of these stores, so I'm glad they have a custom system. But I doubt this is the right solution for an antiquarian store. I could be wrong, I didn't test it for very long.
It's official, Taschen's midwest rep has left the position. They'll be advertising for resumes soon. It could be a good job, but I won't be going for it. At the moment, I'm very happy where I'm at.
Jen Leo made it to the show! Everyone click over to www.writtenroad.com to celebrate! She's as cool in person as on her blog, and I'm not just saying that because I know she'll read this post.
Tonight's the reception, dinner, and quiz bowl. If you're at the show and happen to read this in the next four hours, come hang out at the quiz bowl and for a few drinks afterward.
