Libro.fm updates for booksellers:

• Libro.fm 2020 Social Purpose Annual Report
• Libro.fmrecently announced it is now a Social Purpose Corporation. This designation allows us to pursue both social and financial goals in the for-profit context. In other words, it can make decisions on the basis of what is best for customers and bookstore partners vs. decisions solely focused on maximizing profits. Libro.fm invites booksellers to read the report.
  
  
• Bookseller Zoom Meeting, Thursday January 28th, 9am PT 
• Booksellers are invited to join the Libro.fm Zoom meeting to learn all that’s happening at Libro.fm in 2021, including our transition to a Social Purpose Corporation, upcoming campaigns, and tech updates. Register and come with all your questions! 
  
• BookstoreLink.com for Region Websites 
• Many regions are now using BookstoreLink.com for book linking to bestseller lists, award lists, and more. Bookstore Link is simple to use, enter the print ISBN, copy the url, and add to your site. Anywho clicks on a book link will be able to select a local bookstore to complete the print or audiobook purchase. 
  
  
• Monthly Membership Changes: Free Trial Ending 2/1 
• In 2021, Libro.fm is focusing their efforts on attracting and retaining the most loyal and dedicated bookstore customers, so they will be removing the free trial offer from their monthly membership starting February 1st, 2021. Find more details, next steps, and answers to questions in the  Membership FAQs.

Bookseller Resources on Libro.fm

I'll be honest. I listen to a lot of audiobooks. A lot. They are the only way I get through tedious tasks I don't want to be doing: dusting, cleaning bathrooms, sweeping, folding clothes. If I didn't have something to listen to, all of my clothes would never even make it out of the laundry basket. Marie Kondo would weep. In fact, I was listening to Marie Kondo and getting a kind of evil thrill as I balled up all my pairs of socks and crammed them into a drawer -- something she regards as cruel and unusual sock punishment. The point is, without audiobooks, I would be exactly like that aunt in Cold Sassy Tree who feels perfectly justified in sitting and reading a book while there are still dirty dishes in the sink. So thank god for audiobooks.

One of the most popular talks at last month's SIBA in the Springtime was Mark Pearson from Libro.fm, whose talk "How to Use Tech and Keep our Humanity" was an enthusiastic and playful look at the many possibilities that the often bewildering range of technical advances offer small business owners. Rather than feeling lost at sea, he encouraged booksellers to approach tech in a spirit of play and exploration, and to see opportunities, rather than obstacles. His own vision for Libro.fm ranged from the unabashedly ambitious (co-opt Alexa!) to the eminently practical (playlists, advance listening copies, special promotions)

Advance Listening Copies: A monthly list of complimentary audiobooks for booksellers, some new, some worth rediscovering. Among the book. Among the offerings on the April list are Joshilyn Jackson's forthcoming novel "Never Have I Ever," Southern favorite River Jordan's memoir "Confessions of a Christian Mystic, and the current Okra Pick title "I Miss You When I Blink."

Playlists: Libro.fm allows participating stores to create "playlists" -- the audio version of your special displays and staff picks sections. Here's an example of a playlist we created of every available book that was mentioned at SIBA in the Springtime, from James Joyce's "Dubliners" to "Caps for Sale" (it was that kind of an event!): SIBA in the Springtime Playlist

Special Campaigns: Libro.fm has put together free audiobooks for stores to gift to their customers on Independent Bookstore Day, and has created a resource library of downloads to help stores promote them.

For more information and to get your store involved, contact Mark Pearson at mpearson@libro.fm.