Professional Booksellers School

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The purpose of the Professional Bookseller Certification Program is to provide independent booksellers with an education, training, and accreditation process that will elevate the trade of independent bookselling,  offer a standardized baseline knowledge and professional development opportunities for career booksellers, and create an opportunity for mentorship, guidance, innovation, teaching, and information sharing among book industry members.

PNBA is a Professional Booksellers School Supporting Investor, which means PNBA Bookstore Members (and their employees) are eligible for discounts when registering for PBS certification courses. Use PNBA’s member discount code to save:

  • $25 on Basic Bookselling
  • $50 on all other modules resulting in certification
  • 10% on Independent study, self-guided, or other bundles of content, code: PNBAis

Additionally, PNBA will match that discount after course completion with the submission of a PBS Grant Request below and proof of certification. Reimbursement credits may not be issued to individuals, but must go to their employing member stores.
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Budgeting for Buying, Seminar
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Monday, November 18, 2024: 4:00 pm PT

In this one hour session, Candice Huber, Dean of Bookstore Finances for the Professional Booksellers School, will present practical and actionable steps for budgeting for buying, even if you're starting from scratch. This seminar will be on sale for $50. 
​10% Discount Code: PNBAis
Event Management, Live Courses

January 13, 2025 - June 16, 2025, 16 classes at 5:00 pm PT + office hours
                 (Registration Opens Monday, November 11, 2024 at 10:00 am PT)

Learn how to develop a successful store events program over 16 live classes, covering:
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  • Author events: visits to schools, festivals, school book fairs, and virtual events
  • Non-author events
  • Event partnerships with other businesses
  • Edelweiss event grid pitches
  • Publicity/press kits and working with publicists.
  • Collecting data to understand your store, staff, demographics, and budget
  • Strategic event planning

​Event Management Certification offered, cost of the course is $375.
$50 Discount Code: PNBAem
Inventory Management, Live Courses

January 15, 2025 - May 7, 2025, 16 classes at 3:00 pm PT + office hours
              (Registration Opens Monday, November 18, 2024 at 10:00 am PT)

Perfect for employees and owners of 1-year old bookstores, including a mobile or pop-up shop, that has 25%+ new book inventory as the skills and strategies taught in the course are designed for the new book trade, not for used-only stores. Teaches owners and/or store buyers to:
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  • Create buying strategies and routines to get the best discounts
  • Maintain cash flow and work within budgets
  • Integrate with your store’s marketing and merchandising
  • Analyze and improve your buying process

​Inventory Management Certification offered, cost of the course is $375.
$50 Discount Code: PNBAim
Basic Bookselling, Live Courses (Independent Study Available!)

March 4, 2025 - May 7, 2025, 10 classes at 4:00 pm PT + office hours
              (Registration Opens Monday, January 6, 2025 at 10:00 am PT)

Designed to welcome Independent Bookstore staff into a career in bookselling. Recommended for booksellers with a year or less experience. Teaches the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in bookselling, including: ​
  • Merchandising, hand selling, and customer service
  • Creating shelf talkers, reviews, and displays that sell
  • Vocabulary, finances, and job roles of bookselling
  • Bookselling resources / support: BINC,  Netgalley, Bookshop.org, Edelweiss, ABA and PNBA

Basic Bookselling Certification offered, cost of the course is $125.
$25 Discount Code: (TBA)
Store & Operations Management, Live Courses

Begins March 6, 2025 - additional time and dates TBA
              (Registration Opens Monday, January 15, 2025 at 10:00 am PT)

Designed to cover all of the day-to-day and long-term operational and other business-related needs of an independent bookstore, considering both high-level management topics and the daily tasks assigned to individual booksellers. Built to help managers and owners: 
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  • Evaluate their stores
  • Create a marketing plan
  • Create a mission statement
  • Improve budgets, staff handbooks, and emergency preparedness plans

Store & Operations Management Certification offered, cost of the course is $375.
$50 Discount Code: (TBA)
Independent Study

New in 2024! The Professional Booksellers School is offering Independent Study options for all of their courses. Select the classes you or your employees need and complete them within a set amount of time, depending on the course or bundle. There are individual courses for a 30-day viewing window, Basic Bookselling self-study within 3 months or certification within 4 months, or a 12 month window for an unlimited number of staff from a single store, just to describe a few examples.
​10% Discount Code: PNBAis