Dropping the Upper Includes the Lower in the Midwest

In the spirit of inclusiveness and accuracy, the Upper Midwest Booksellers Association (UMBA) has changed its name to the Midwest Booksellers Association (MBA). "Our new name now accurately includes the whole territory and all of the bookstores that we represent," said the regional's executive director, Susan Walker. "It's a large geographic area to call the Upper Midwest. It [was] simply inaccurate.... Our association for many years has included Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Now our name has been brought up to date."

The change reflects a unanimous decision by the regional's board of directors and was in response to information gathered in a survey of its bookseller members. The name change seeks not only to more precisely describe the region, but to also address concerns of booksellers in the lower Midwestern states.

Walker stressed that MBA and GLBA's regions remain the same. "It is also important to note that two regional associations, MBA and the Great Lakes Booksellers Association, represent states in the overall midwestern part of the U.S.," she said. "Both MBA and GLBA continue to serve our respective territories and members, and that has not changed at all."

MBA and GLBA have worked together to come up with a new name for the regionals' combined Book Sense Bestseller List. Effective immediately, the Midwest Independent Bestseller List has been rechristened the Heartland Independent Bestseller List. The list includes the tag line, "Based on reporting from the independent booksellers of the Great Lakes Booksellers Association, the Midwest Booksellers Association, and Book Sense."

MBA has also created a new mission statement of the association: "To strengthen Midwest independent booksellers and their partnerships within the larger bookselling and publishing community by providing opportunities to network and exchange information, educational programs, and tools to sell books to their customers and to grow a vibrant book culture." The association will also focus on new key strategies for booksellers, including developing an Internet presence and continuing to build partnerships between booksellers and publishers, reps, wholesaler, and vendor members. --Karen Schechner