The mood was celebratory and upbeat, as the Great Lakes Booksellers Association kicked off its 10-year anniversary at the Lansing Center in Lansing, Mich., October 8-10. As this was the very site of the first GLBA show, the organization's executive director, Jim Dana, spent much of the weekend looking back and reflecting on the growth of GLBA, but much of the optimism for its future could be summed up in two words: Book Sense.

Even with the ABA's new marketing campaign and Web site, GLBA membership declined last year from 503 to 435, which, according to Dana, indicates "probable continued attrition among bookstores and sales reps serving the region."

But don't tell that to the 467 booksellers who attended this year's show. Unlike last year, very few were interested in bemoaning the chains or the increased might of Amazon.com. And although membership had dipped, Dana pointed out that overall show attendance was up by 60 people.

The show got off to a rousing start with a book award luncheon, a new feature to the annual itinerary. The Great Lakes Book Awards were created to focus attention on deserving writers, books and publishers in America's heartland. This years winners were Kathy-Jo Wargin and Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen for Legend of Mackinac Island (Sleeping Bear Press) in the children's category; Alex Kotlowitz's The Other Side of the River (Doubleday/Anchor), about a mysterious death in southwest Michigan, for nonfiction; Craig Holden's Ohio-set mystery Four Corners of Night (Dell) for fiction; and in the general category, Gary Irving and Michal Strutin (Places of Grace: The Natural Landscapes of the American Midwest, Univ. of Illinois Press).

The remainder of the day on Friday was devoted to myriad workshops and seminars, including two on Book Sense that were standing room only.

"The development of Book Sense," said Dana, "has given us a practical vehicle for competition and an emotional boost, and there are several options now available for stores to develop an Internet presence."

"This is a progressive group of booksellers," said Suzanne Welsh, an independent publishing consultant and director of the GLBA's annual holiday catalogue. This year's catalogue, with in-store marketing suggestions for each of its 190 titles, will be distributed in November. According to Welsh, one million copies will be printed. The theme throughout the colorful catalogue is "Alice in Wonderland," and it features interior artwork by illustrator Lisbeth Zewrger.

"We really wanted to raise the bar in terms of graphic design and layout," said Welsh, a former Ingram marketing manager. The importance of the holiday catalogue is underscored by the fact that it is responsible for 99% of GLBA's annual revenue.

Reinforcing Welsh's progressive descriptor, there was booksellers' steady stream of interest in the GLBA's own Web site, at www.books-glba.org. The site is constantly updated and includes registration information for the association, its history, an electronic version of the holiday catalogue and an ongoing drive to profile every bookstore in the GLBA, with square-footage information, specialties and store photos .

Rita Williams, owner of Books of Aurora in Aurora, Ohio, was named the new GLBA president. Terry Whittaker, of Viewpoint Books, Columbus, Ohio, stepped down from his one-year term.

Susan Schenone, former GLBA president and owner of the Book Bag in Valparaiso, Ind., was optimistic about GLBA's membership numbers. "It's capped off," she said, "and it will start going up, you just watch. One really good sign is that there are new people coming into the business. There are actually new bookstore owners, which you wouldn't have seen a few years ago."