Book distributor Baker and Taylor shut down after nearly 200 years of business

NILES, Mich. — One of the biggest book distribution centers, Baker and Taylor are shutting down. There are only three major distribution centers, so many libraries across Michiana felt the waves of this shut down.

Baker and Taylor are based in Charlotte, North Carolina and partner with more than 5,000 libraries. Founded in 1828, this company recently announced it shut down after trying to sell the brand to Reader Link Distribution Center.

This closing may lead to a slowdown in receiving new books, best sellers, and more across all genres.

ABC 57’s Sidney Moore reached out to libraries across the region to see how they are responding to this shut down. Saint Joseph County Library said over the past year 20% of their books came from the company. Elkhart library had to cancel and reorder around 1,000 items after finding out about the shutdown.

Some libraries were able to get ahead of the shutdown. Saint Joe Michigan says they switched ahead of the shut down after having problems with the company.

Niles District Library has nearly 90,000 books on the shelves, and 80% of their intake comes from Baker and Taylor. Director Stevyn Compoe says getting books on the shelves is a multi-step process, and because of this shutdown there may be a setback on new arrivals.

“We put a cart order monthly and then they acquire those books. They catalog them for us and process them, which means putting covers, protective covers, spine labels, security features and that kind of things in the materials, and then they ship them to us.”

Compoe adds this process is not as simple as people may think. “Most people think that we could just go down to Walmart or on Amazon and click Buy and have it the next day. But there's a lot that goes into getting books on the shelves, as far as cataloging and processing”

Many libraries across Michiana have moved to a different distributor called Ingram, to help avoid setbacks by this shut down.