In the coming months, Nebraska libraries may face significant delays in receiving new book releases due to a major disruption in their distribution chain. This issue arises from the planned closure of Baker & Taylor, a key library book distributor nationwide.
Baker & Taylor, a national company, confirmed on October 6 that it would cease operations by early 2026, as reported by Publishers Weekly. The announcement leaves many libraries without their principal source for new books.
In Nebraska, libraries typically receive new books on a weekly basis, with Baker & Taylor playing a crucial role in maintaining this flow. However, issues began surfacing even before the official announcement of the company’s closure.
“What we began to notice, kind of the canary in the coal mine, was that books weren’t showing up over the last several months,” stated Matt Williams, director of the Kearney Public Library. “You would order something, and it just wouldn’t show up.”
The decision-making process for book orders at the library involves considering new releases and community requests. This allows patrons to place holds on books before they even arrive at the library.
Currently, the Kearney Public Library is transitioning to Ingram as its main distributor and is working on reordering unfulfilled stock from Baker & Taylor.
To prioritize reordering, library staff are assessing the number of hold requests for incoming titles, with the most requested ones prioritized. Williams anticipates a considerable delay in catching up on the backlog.
“So, the stuff that people really want, we’re going to reorder them right away,” Williams explained.
Herbert Lesser, vice president of the Midwest Library Service, noted that libraries are exploring other retailers, including Amazon. He pointed out that Amazon’s distribution system is tailored for the general public, creating additional challenges for libraries.
“It seems that they’re simply ordering more from Amazon, and then what happens is, instead of getting consolidated shipments, they might get 20 books in 15 boxes,” Lesser said. “Whereas a library vendor would ship those 20 books in one box.”
He added that handling the extra boxes is one of several ways the transition adds to the workload of library staff.
Steven Chase, library services director for Midwest Library Service, has been collaborating with libraries across the Midwest to address the gap.
“The big thing right now is for patrons to understand what their local library is going through,” Chase remarked. “They are doing the best they can do to get these books.”
