Book distributor shutting down deals logistical blow to libraries

Librarians have spent this past year fighting battles over book bans, government funding and AI. 2025 is also ending with a logistical blow to libraries' basic mission, getting the latest books to readers. Here's NPR's Andrew Limbong.

ANDREW LIMBONG, BYLINE: Greensboro is a small town in rural Maryland over on the Eastern Shore. The library there is actually inside the community center, but otherwise, it's a library like any other. There's a corner for kids' stuff, a row of computers and a shelf of new releases, or on this day, new-ish releases.

KELLY EMERY: It's a little not up to date since we haven't been getting as many new titles.

LIMBONG: Kelly Emery is the lead cataloger here.

EMERY: There are new releases, but they're not the newest releases.

LIMBONG: There are a few books that came out in the summer and early fall. But if you're looking for the latest John Grisham or James Patterson, you are out of luck.

EMERY: So Baker & Taylor ceased shipping everything to us.

LIMBONG: Baker & Taylor is one of the very few companies that do book distribution for libraries. So there are companies that act as the middleman between libraries and publishers. But a few months ago, the company abruptly announced it was shutting down.

EMERY: I found out through Reddit (laughter), funny enough. And then I think either later that day or the next day, I got the official email from them.

LIMBONG: NPR has reached out to Baker & Taylor for an interview, but they haven't gotten back. Marshall Breeding is a library consultant specializing in library technology and distribution services. And he says Baker & Taylor closing hamstrings libraries' ability to get new releases.

MARSHALL BREEDING: Public libraries really depend on, you know, having a fresh, vital collection of materials that are current, you know, bestsellers and all of that. So If they have trouble buying new materials, it means their collections will be a little less vital.

LIMBONG: According to Baker & Taylor's website, they serviced about 5,000 libraries. Breeding estimates that they had half the market share. And the company is expected to fully end operations at the end of the year. And many libraries adrift without a distributor have turned to Baker & Taylor's rival, Ingram Library Services.

CAROLYN MORRIS: We were already in a really good position to be able to scale up our infrastructure and be able to take on the new volume.

LIMBONG: Carolyn Morris is the vice president.

MORRIS: Though, it's not a flip of the switch. We still have to do that scaling up, hire people, make sure we have enough inventory to meet the new demand and get people trained.

LIMBONG: Marshall Breeding, the library consultant, said that it's likely patrons tired of waiting for physical books could opt for e-books or audiobooks. But those have their own wait times and are exponentially more expensive for libraries. But he's optimistic that the new physical books will start to come back eventually.

BREEDING: This comes at a really bad time for public libraries anyway. Think of all of the book banning and First Amendment and all these other issues that have really come to a head in the last year. And now they have to deal with being able to find new ways to buy their books. So, yeah, this is a hard time to be a public librarian.

EMERY: We've been very fortunate. Our patrons have been very understanding.

LIMBONG: Back at the library in Greensboro, librarian Kelly Emery said she had people clamoring for the new Dan Brown book, "Secret Of Secrets."

EMERY: There were over a hundred holds on it. And when someone asked me, hey, how long will it be before I get this book? I said, truthfully, I don't know.

LIMBONG: Librarians are known for finding the answers to things, but sometimes there just aren't any good ones.

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