The Professional Booksellers School, an independent educational nonprofit organization launched by Eileen Dengler, the executive director of the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association, announced that bookstore consultant Kit Little of Little Extra LLC has been named a Certified Professional Bookseller after completing four courses in the Professional Booksellers School’s curriculum. Little is the first bookseller to have completed the full program.
The Professional Booksellers School offers courses for booksellers in basic bookselling, inventory management, event management, and operations management. A course in leadership and personnel management is available only to bookstore owners and managers; another course for owners and managers on finances is still in development and will be offered in 2023.
Little is currently NAIBA’s executive administrator as well as a bookstore consultant. She previously served as director of marketing at Towne Book Center in Collegeville, Pa. for more than 13 years. In a release, Dengler stated: “Kit worked very hard these past two years. She learned a lot, she contributed even more as a student and instructor and helped us adapt the program from a student’s perspective.”
To date, 210 booksellers have enrolled in the Professional Booksellers School, and 129 have have received certifications in one or more courses.
