It was unanimous: the 60 booksellers and more than a dozen publishers’ reps who gathered for the first-ever joint spring meeting of the Midwest Booksellers Association and the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association agreed that the event was a huge success that exceeded their expectations.

The MBA/GLiBA joint meeting, which was co-sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, was held in a Sheraton Four Points Hotel in a suburb north of Milwaukee, Wis. on March 19. Representatives from 18 MBA member stores and 12 GLiBA stores mixed and mingled at the day-long meeting, which began in the morning with an educational session on ABA’s steadily growing IndieCommerce program, and concluded that evening with a party at The Next Chapter bookstore in nearby Mequon, hosted by store owner Lanora [Hurley] Haradon and her staff.

While booksellers belonging to both organizations firmly reject any notion of the two regional associations ever merging, everyone PW polled expressed the hope that there might be more such opportunities for them to network with just their colleagues across the Midwest.

If MBA and GLiBA were to merge, it’d “become too big of an organization,” commented Lisa Baudoin, owner of Books & Company in Oconomowoc, Wis., who belongs to MBA. “But dovetailing is so effective.”

“Our members clearly enjoy each other’s company,” Matt Norcross, co-owner of McLean & Eakin Booksellers, in Petoskey, Mich., and GLiBA board v-p, later wrote in an e-mail to PW, “We both have contracts for trade shows that will prevent anything happening too quickly; but it does seem, after this weekend, that the idea of a joint regional show is closer than ever.”

Overall, there was a general sense of consensus and camaraderie. The positive ambiance was amplified by the fact that two of their number, Anderson’s Bookshops and publisher’s rep John Eklund, had just been named PW’s Bookstore of the Year and Sales Rep of the Year, respectively, a distinction mentioned several times by various speakers throughout the day.

The meeting had its tense moments, however, particularly during the Booksellers Forum, moderated by ABA CEO Oren Teicher. The session kicked off on a lively note, with several booksellers directing comments toward Chris Satterlund, the Scholastic rep present, complaining that Scholastic bypasses booksellers and sells books directly to consumers. It’s not just book fairs held at schools and institutions, it’s also warehouse sales that are being advertised to the general public, explained Cynthia Compton, owner of 4 Kids Books & Toys in Indianapolis and GLiBA board president. Compton’s bookstore is located six blocks away from a Scholastic warehouse, which holds book sales twice a year for two or three week periods. Consumers easily gain access to these sales, as no proof of educational or institutional affiliation is required of shoppers. “It’s whatever they bring in; so, it could be that season’s frontlist trade editions,” she complained, “And that’s where we cease to be partners.”

Satterlund, who stood by her seat as booksellers voiced their concerns about Scholastic’s policies, responded that incidents such as the one Compton described should not be happening, and that Compton should discuss the matter with her Scholastic rep. Teicher also told booksellers that an issue like this should be brought to the ABA’s attention, so that they could advocate for booksellers with Scholastic’s trade division.

The tension in the room dissolved as the booksellers moved on to discuss tax credits, the merger of the ABA and the ABC, whether BEA would rotate around the country again, and why the ABA had decided to pass on holding Winter Institute in Minneapolis at some point.

When Roberta Rubin, the owner of the Bookstall at Chestnut Court, in Winnetka, Ill., asked how independent booksellers should respond to Borders closing 225 stores this spring, the discussion between booksellers and ABA executives once again erupted, with Teicher urging booksellers to waste no time in making themselves known to consumers looking for a bookstore to replace Borders. “Almost 230 communities around the country will no longer have a bookstore,” Teicher insisted, “For us not to take advantage of that would be foolish.”

Several booksellers seconded Teicher’s argument, by describing special promotions they were implementing, and advertising campaigns they were conducting, specifically designed to entice new customers into their stores who had previously shopped at Borders. A few other booksellers expressed concerns that such marketing strategies would backfire. “I don’t want to be dancing on their grave,” Rubin responded, prompting ABA COO Len Vlahos to point out, “If we don’t take advantage, our competitors will.”