"As a board one of the responsibilities that we take seriously is advocacy on behalf of the membership. One of the things that we have been watching closely is the expansion practices of Barnes & Noble. While we fully support expanding access to books, we have been increasingly concerned about the strategy that Barnes & Noble has taken in communities where there is already a strong Independent Bookstore in existence. All of us know of situations where this is happening. To that end, we have sent the following letter to the ABA on behalf of all our membership expressing our concerns about this and other issues related to unfair practices that impact our businesses."
- Tim Smith, GLIBA President 

Dear ABA Board,

We are writing to you as a regional trade organization to voice our concerns about a few issues connected to the health of independent bookstores as they relate to Barnes & Noble. As you know, there was a time when Barnes & Noble was seemingly on the brink of collapse. At this time both the ABA and various other groups within the world of bookselling were extremely concerned about what impact their demise would have on the overall book business. Out of that concern we all agreed that they, and by proxy the larger book industry, would benefit from them being supported alongside the indie channel. The consensus was, essentially “at least they aren’t as bad as Amazon.”

Since then, Barnes & Noble has bounced back. They are now in an aggressive growth pattern that has shown up in predatory store openings that directly threaten established independent bookstores. Most recently they have acquired Tattered Cover, one of the country’s most celebrated independent bookstores. Instead of approaching this purchase honestly, they are planning to operate the store under the Tattered Cover name instead of their own. This looks like them trying to benefit from the history of an outstanding independent bookstore. While it is good that the neighborhoods that have supported Tattered Cover will not lose access to books, it is still a troubling situation.

Additionally, Barnes & Noble is also consistently violating on-sale dates. Publishers have also given them preferential treatment as recently as the announcement of Suzanne Collins’ next Hunger Games book. Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Bookshop, and many others had pre-order options for this book minutes after the news of this release. Indiecommerce stores couldn’t promote the book until at least Sunday because there was no record for the book, and still on the Monday following there was no cover art to use. We totally missed any opportunity to capture pre-orders on one of the biggest announcements in quite some time. This all feels very reminiscent of the 1990’s independent bookselling environment where bookstores were all constantly at odds with publishers for fair options to promote upcoming books. Then it was Barnes & Noble, and Borders that were getting assets, and selling books in ways that independents could not. This set up an unfair competitive advantage for the chains. We can’t afford to go back to this reality. Too much was done to fight for ourselves to go back to that place.

So, what do we do? We come together again to defend ourselves against unfair competition. We ask you, as our representative in rooms we don’t all have access to, for your help. We ask you to make sure that Barnes & Noble cannot be looked at like the independent powerhouse that Tattered Cover once was. The events that they hosted alone were revolutionary, and Barnes & Noble should not have unfair access to simply carrying on what Tattered Cover built over many decades. Barnes & Noble, and Amazon should not be able to capture all of the publicity, and sales for huge new releases. That has to stop.

Thank you for listening. We are very concerned, but we remain steadfast in the belief that if we are all joined together in our common cause of truly connecting people through books in our stores we all will be successful. We need your help to be our voice. Please help us to continue advocating for strong independent bookstores that help bring life to our local communities.

In solidarity,
Tim Smith
President, GLIBA

GLIBA Board of Directrors
Alyson Turner, Vice President; Nina Barrett, Secretary; Zach Matelski, Treasurer
Melissa D. Weisberg, Gary Lovely, Maxwell Gregory, Shay Carroll, Harriett Logan

Last week, the GLIBA/SIBA partnership we held The Indie Press Social in Louisville, Kentucky, headed by the Dream Team: Linda-Marie "That's just like, your opinion, man" Barrett and Larry "Calmer Than You" Law.

We must give a special shoutout to Sarabande Books for welcoming us with an amazing tour, and Carmichael's Bookstore for hosting all of us (and lending a great background for photos that's out of this world), as well as the rest of our participating indie presses: Beacon Press, Europa Editions, New Directions, Other Press, Soho Press, Two Dollar Radio & Verso Books. Many thanks for their insightful presentations, and further strengthening the bridge between indie presses and booksellers!

These presses have also curated the Indie Press Social Edelweiss Collection! Click here to check out several titles from their respective presses, both released and forthcoming!

Lastly, thank you to everyone who attended! Take a peek below into last week's events (thankfully, no one was beamed up)!

GLIBA Holiday Catalog
As we approach summer I'm sure you're not ready to start thinking about the holiday season but we've made it easy with some key dates and a few requests to make sure your Holiday Catalog needs are met and that you don't miss anything!
​
KEY DATES & LINKS
June 1 - Deadline to Initiate a Saturation Mail Order (Start Order)
June 1 - Catalog Cover Contest Voting Closes (Vote Now)
June 7 - Booksellers Recommends Nominations Due (Recommend Titles)
June 15 - Store Orders Due (Order Free Holiday Catalogs)
October 1 - Holiday Catalogs Shipped to Stores and Newspapers
November 1 - Holiday Catalog Mailed to Consumers
Take advantage of one of the best marketing tools we offer! The annual GLIBA Holiday Catalog is affordable, easy to order, includes a wide array of diverse titles, and represents your store with a professional polish.
 
​Catalog Info
Receive up to 14 BOXES / 7000 catalogs for FREE!
Includes catalogs shipped to your store, sent via direct mail, and inserted in newspapers.
Ordering is easy. Sign in to your Holiday Catalog Portal to get started
Costs and Quantities
7000 - FREE Catalogs credit for every order
500 - Catalogs per box (1 box minimum print order)
1000 - Catalog minimum to order cover imprinting
$ 0 - Shipping costs
$ 0 - Online catalog page cost
$ 55 - Cost per box for extra boxes of catalogs over 7000 credit
$ 0.11 - Cost per catalog, over 7000 credit
$ 0.20 - Postage cost per catalog for ALL catalogs sent via saturation mail

 Praise From GLIBA Catalog Users
"We get more responses from this form of advertising than from anything else we have tried." 

"The catalog encouraged me to order books I might not have otherwise, and I sold books that surprised me."

"The catalogs started working their magic as soon as they were on the counter. After they were inserted in the local paper, people started coming in with them, having marked the titles they wanted."

"The catalog is marvelous advertising for us, and brings in new customers every year!"

"The catalog is THE most valuable marketing tool we have for the Christmas season."

​Job Title
Executive Coordinator
 
Location
Chicagoland area or remotely from Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio or Wisconsin
 
Terms
Part Time / 20 hours per week
 
Rate
$20 per hour
 
About Us
The Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association is a non-profit bookstore advocacy organization based in the Great Lakes and Midwest. Covering Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. We provide education, events, social networking opportunities and marketing programs annually.
 
About the Role
We are seeking an Executive Coordinator to handle day-to-day tasks of the organization as well as planning and execution of annual events.
 
Responsibilities
Assist the Executive Director
Manage day-to-day tasks of the organization
            Newsletters, advertising, invoicing, social media, etc.
Bookstore and publisher outreach
Trade Show and small to large-scale event planning and execution
            Booking events, reservations, attendee and exhibitor logistics, marketing, registration,
            etc.
 
Experience
Bookselling and or publishing experience
Marketing experience
Budgeting
Event planning
            Small to large-scale events
 
Familiarity or expertise in the following programs and platforms
Constant Contact
Microsoft Office
AirTable
QuickBooks
Instagram
Threads
Facebook
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
TikTok
 
To Apply
Please email your resume to [email protected]

 We are thrilled to extend our warmest welcome to CALIBA, our newest partner! Collaborating with new stores, publishers, and embracing all the fresh opportunities they bring is something that truly excites us. Stay tuned for even more exciting announcements coming your way soon! 

RAMP (our catalog consortium) partners annually to produce our Summer and Holiday Catalog. Our catalogs benefit hundreds of of independent bookstores in our regions. 

RAMP includes the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association (NAIBA), the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association (GLIBA), the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA), and the JUST ADDED California Independent Booksellers Alliance (CALIBA)! (more info)