about gliba

Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association
  • About
    • Join GLIBA
    • Bookstore Members
    • Board of Directors >
      • Past Board Members
    • Our By-Laws
    • Publisher Members
  • Catalogs
    • Holiday Catalog >
      • Holiday Catalog for Publishers
    • Summer Catalog >
      • Summer Catalog for Publishers
  • Events
    • Spring Forum 2023
    • Rep Night 2023
    • Past Events >
      • George Saunders
      • Spring Forum >
        • Spring Forum 2022
        • Spring Forum 2021
        • Spring Forum 2020
        • Spring Forum 2019
        • Spring Forum 2018
      • The Lit Show >
        • The Lit Show: Chapter 3
        • The Lit Show: Chapter 2
        • The Lit Show: Chapter 1
      • Heartland
      • Group Bookstore Events
      • Rep Night >
        • Rep Night 2019
        • Rep Night 2018
      • Chicagoland Bookstore Crawl >
        • Chicagoland Bookstore Crawl 2022
        • Chicagoland Bookstore Crawl 2018
  • Bestsellers
  • Heartland
  • Awards
    • Heartland Booksellers Award
    • Voice of the Heartland >
      • Past Winners
  • News
  • Publisher Promotions
  • Publishers, Authors and Industry Affiliates Info
    • Advertise with GLIBA
    • MIPA
    • Bookseller ARC Requests and Preferred Reading Genres
    • For Authors
  • YouTube Channel
  • Past Holiday Catalogs
    • Holiday Catalog 2021
    • Holiday Catalog 2020
    • Holiday Catalog 2019
  • Bookseller Resources
    • Publisher Imprint Graphics
    • Rep List
    • Publisher Social Media
    • Reporting Your Sales
    • New York Trip
    • CHILOVEBOOKS
    • Tools of the Trade
    • Anti-Racism Resources
    • Covid-19 Resources
    • The Independent Bookseller
    • On-Line Links
    • Advocacy
  • Board Information
The Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association is the second youngest of the 8 regional booksellers associations. It was formed in late 1989 as the Michigan Booksellers Association in response to censorship legislation in that state. It had its first trade show in 1990 and published its first holiday catalog in 1991. The association grew quickly. In 1991 GLIBA expanded to include the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin and changed its name to Great Lakes Booksellers Association. In 2008 the name was changed to add "Independent " to better describe our purpose and membership.

The mission of the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association is to improve the effectiveness of booksellers, forge partnerships among members in all aspects of the bookselling industry and promote the Great Lakes region as a vital marketplace, as well as to promote literacy and free speech across our region.

Currently, the GLIBA staff consists of the Executive Director Larry Law and the GLIBA Board of Directors.

GLIBA Board of Directors

Picture
​President
Lynn Mooney
Women & Children First
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Vice President
Tim Smith
Schuler Books 
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Treasurer
Melissa D. Weisberg
Macmillan
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Secretary 
David Underwood
Penguin Random House
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​Joanna Parzakonis
This is a Bookstore &
Bookbug
Picture
Alyson Turner
Source Booksellers
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​Kathy Burnette
Brain Lair Books
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​Melia Wolf
Cover to Cover Children's Books
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Chris Conti
Independent Publishers Group
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Gary Lovely
Prologue Bookshop
This area of the country is also known as the Third Coast.This is true not just due to the waves of water on our Great Lakes or the waves of grain in our fields, but the excellent booksellers and the concentration of strong markets that are found in the region. Of the top 100 population centers in the US, the GLBA contains eleven, including Chicago (#3), Indianapolis (#12), Columbus (#15), Detroit (#18),Louisville 28),Cleveland (#48), Cincinnati (#65).  Association membership numbers declined in the mid-90s, as elsewhere in the country, but the booksellers who remain are a savvier group, committed to making their way in this business they love. For example, GLIBA members are participating in both IndieBound marketing and IndieBound.com at a higher rate than our proportional share of ABA memberships.According to the U.S. Census Bureau in July 2013, over half the country’s population, 54 percent to be exact, is concentrated in nine states. Of these nine, three of them lie in the GLIBA region: Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan. Together, with Indiana, these four states hold approximately 13% of the U.S. population. Economically speaking, these four states represented also approximately 12% of the U.S. Gross State Product. To us, these numbers speak volumes about the impact and importance the Great Lakes region has on the course of our country’s future, and only strengthens the idea of the Third Coast.

GLIBA Office
​
3123 Andrea Ct,
Woodridge, IL 60517

Contact Us
(630) 841-8129
larry@gliba.org

    Join the GLIBA Email List!

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  • About
    • Join GLIBA
    • Bookstore Members
    • Board of Directors >
      • Past Board Members
    • Our By-Laws
    • Publisher Members
  • Catalogs
    • Holiday Catalog >
      • Holiday Catalog for Publishers
    • Summer Catalog >
      • Summer Catalog for Publishers
  • Events
    • Spring Forum 2023
    • Rep Night 2023
    • Past Events >
      • George Saunders
      • Spring Forum >
        • Spring Forum 2022
        • Spring Forum 2021
        • Spring Forum 2020
        • Spring Forum 2019
        • Spring Forum 2018
      • The Lit Show >
        • The Lit Show: Chapter 3
        • The Lit Show: Chapter 2
        • The Lit Show: Chapter 1
      • Heartland
      • Group Bookstore Events
      • Rep Night >
        • Rep Night 2019
        • Rep Night 2018
      • Chicagoland Bookstore Crawl >
        • Chicagoland Bookstore Crawl 2022
        • Chicagoland Bookstore Crawl 2018
  • Bestsellers
  • Heartland
  • Awards
    • Heartland Booksellers Award
    • Voice of the Heartland >
      • Past Winners
  • News
  • Publisher Promotions
  • Publishers, Authors and Industry Affiliates Info
    • Advertise with GLIBA
    • MIPA
    • Bookseller ARC Requests and Preferred Reading Genres
    • For Authors
  • YouTube Channel
  • Past Holiday Catalogs
    • Holiday Catalog 2021
    • Holiday Catalog 2020
    • Holiday Catalog 2019
  • Bookseller Resources
    • Publisher Imprint Graphics
    • Rep List
    • Publisher Social Media
    • Reporting Your Sales
    • New York Trip
    • CHILOVEBOOKS
    • Tools of the Trade
    • Anti-Racism Resources
    • Covid-19 Resources
    • The Independent Bookseller
    • On-Line Links
    • Advocacy
  • Board Information