Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association

Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association logo

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 Deborah Leonard. 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. Visit Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association online

after-words bookstore

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Chicago, Illinois, United States

We are an open shop with 55,000 volumes. About 1/4 of our inventory is comprised of new books, the rest are used and out of print.

BayShore Books LLC

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Oconto, Wisconsin, United States

BayShore Books LLC is a general independent book store specializing in new and used fiction, non-fiction and children's books.

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Birch Tree Bookery

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Marion, Ohio, United States

Local and independently managed, Birch Tree Bookery sells all genres and conditions of used books for adults and children. We also sell toys, novelties, handmade jewelry, home decor, and board games.

Book Beat

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Oak Park, Michigan, United States

Book Beat is an independently owned store since 1982. We are a general bookshop specialized in fine art, photography, quality lit, and children's books. We also sell greeting cards, African sculpture, folk art, photography, novelties, and objects d'art. We are…

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Brain Lair Books

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South Bend, Indiana, United States

Providing books that feature BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and characters with mental or neurological disabilities.

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First Edition too Inc. Bookstore

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Moran, Michigan, United States

Small, seasonal cabin bookshop in business for 30 years. Not all of my inventory is on line so please inquire if you don't find what you want in the online list. Specialty is Michigan and Great Lakes History with a…

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Kazoo Books LLC

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Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States

We are an independent bookstore in Kalamazoo Michigan, offering a wide range of titles from our new & used inventory. Only a VERY small portion of our 40,000+ books are listed online. Kazoo Books is an antiquarian bookseller with a…

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Redux Books

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Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States

We are an independant boosktore that specializes in used, rare and antiquarian books. We strive for customer sastisfaction on all orders.

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Snowball Bookshop

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Barberton, Ohio, United States

A charming used bookstore in a renovated building in beautiful Downtown Barberton, OH. A general bookstore with over 1000,000 volumes of very nice condition hardcover and paperback books in all categories. Store hours are Mon-Fri 10-6, Sat 10-4.

The Bluestocking Bookshop

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Holland, Michigan, United States

The Bluestocking Bookshop is a locally-owned independent bookshop that exists to provide high quality pre-loved, new and bargain books and gifts at affordable prices so all of our community can be literary and intelligent people.

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Travelin' Storyseller

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Hudson, Wisconsin, United States

Featuring older and out-of-print editions of new books, we ship daily. "OOP" at the beginning of a title indicates an out-of-print edition. All other titles are older editions where the publisher has updated the cover or increased the price. All…

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Village Lights Bookstore, ABAA/ILAB

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Madison, Indiana, United States

Village Lights Bookstore opened as a brick-and-mortar shop in 2008. We are a quintessential "mom & pop" business, locally owned and independent, and we live above the shop. We are members of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America, the International…

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