Great Lakes Booksellers Association executive director Deb Leonard and Midwest Booksellers Association executive director Carrie Obry may still be learning the essentials of their new positions, but they’re not wasting any time mixing things up. On March 19, MBA and GLiBA will hold a joint spring meeting in Milwaukee. It’s actually, in Leonard’s words, a “triple meet,” as the ABA is participating as well, holding an educational session for booksellers on the IndieCommerce program, as well as an open forum for discussion of industry issues.
This is the first time any of the regional bookseller associations have held a joint meeting for their bookseller members. According to Leonard, the GLiBA board has been discussing creating partnerships with other regional associations in the wake of GLiBA’s collaboration this past year with NAIBA and NEBA, producing their 2010 holiday catalogs more cheaply. “We need to interact more,” Leonard commented, “It makes sense financially. And there’s strength in numbers.”
A meeting at Winter Institute last month between MBA board president Chris Livingston, the owner of the Book Shelf in Winona, Minn., and GLiBA board president Cynthia Compton of 4 Kids Books & Toys in Indianapolis, resulted in the two organizations scheduling the March 19 meeting in a location convenient to both MBA and GLiBA booksellers. The meeting’s venue has not yet been decided.
The day will include educational sessions moderated by teams of MBA and GLiBA booksellers, as well as presentations of forthcoming releases by publishers’s reps. Galleys will also be available, although authors are not expected to participate in the day’s events, due to MBA and GLiBA’s emphasis this year on bookseller interaction and education. The meeting will conclude with an evening reception for all attendees hosted by MBA board member Lanora Hurley at her bookstore, The Next Chapter, in Mequon, in Milwaukee’s north shore area, to which local authors will be invited.
When asked whether there is any talk between the two regional associations about merging, or even holding a joint trade show in the fall, Leonard was adamant that the two organizations have no intention of merging, and will continue to hold separate trade shows. She does expect, though, that MBA and GLiBA will continue to partner with each other on certain initiatives, including holding joint spring meetings in the future.
There are 147 GLiBA bookstore members and 202 MBA bookstore members.
