SIBA has recently seen an uptick in the number of bookstore events appearing on the "ARTS Calendar" -- SIBA's promoted calendar of events at her member stores. The average number of events has been climbing steadily, from about 50 to 70 per week. In fact next week, March 10-16, 2019, lists over 100 events!

With the extra events has come extra interest -- especially from authors and publishers looking to see if their events are listed, and from bookstores who don't see their events on the calendar at all. SIBA's membership has climbed by more than 20 new bookstore members over the past year, so we thought a short refresher would be of use to new members, or members who haven't taken advantage of the ARTS Calendar and would like to start:

What is the ARTS Calendar?

The ARTS events calendar is one of the most actively accessed parts of SIBA's consumer-targeted website, authorsroundthesouth.com. An average of a 150 bookstores list between 50-80 events every week. SIBA booksellers can post their store events, which are collected in a searchable calendar, included in the Lady Banks newsletter, and shared on SIBA’s social networks, including author tags and hashtags. Listing events on the ARTS calendar is one way SIBA works to increase the visibity of its member stores in their own community and within the book industry.

How do I enter events on the ARTS Calendar?

You can enter events here:
https://sibaweb.site-ym.com/page/stars_bkstore#form

You don't need to be logged in to use the form, although it will be easier if you are. It will take up to 24 hours for each event to appear on the site calendar.

Do I have to enter each event separately?

The form is for a single event entry. You can also upload your event list as a batch using the ARTS Calendar Event Spreadsheet, which can be emailed to nicki@sibaweb.com.

Do we earn B3! credit for entering our events?
Yes! Stores earn $.50 in B3! credit for each event submitted via the form or spreadsheet. SIBA has several members who regularly earn enough credit to pay their membership dues just by entering events on the calendar

Why are there already events listed for my store in the calendar? I haven't entered any!

SIBA elves like to spend their free time entering events on behalf of our member stores. They get event information from your store websites and newsletters. While we can't promise that all of your events will be added to the calendar, we make an effort to represent every store with an accessible and active events calendar.